Know better
by you-make-me-wander
Summary: Prompt: AU where Lydia is a single mom and has to move miles away to escape her abusive ex-husband. In a new city, her life changes completely when she meets Stiles, a single, funny, hardworking and very, very handsome, but also very tortured man. No supernatural elements involved.
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt: AU where Lydia is a single mom and has to move miles away to escape her abusive ex-husband. In a new city, her life changes completely when she meets Stiles, a single, funny, hardworking and very, very handsome, but also very tortured man. No supernatural elements involved.**

**Okay, so here's my new multi-chapter Stydia-centric fic. I'll be working on this one and "Mysterious ways" alternately. As always, feedback is much appreciated :)**

**Chapter 1**

She should have known better than to bake the chocolate muffins in the early morning, but she couldn't help it. She has been edgy since she woke up at 4:00 am, nervous with the anticipation. The feeling vanishes when she sees a flash of red darting into her kitchen, a sleepy smile on her face.

"I smell chocolate." The little girl's eyes widen, almost glowing. Getting closer to Lydia, she grabs at her mom's skirt, demanding attention. "What you doing?"

Lydia can't help but smile. "Good morning sweetie." Her hand falls to the girl's hair and she bends down to kiss her forehead. "It's the first day in your new school. You want to make new friends, right?" The girl nods. "So we'll take the muffins and you can give them to your teacher and your new friends. Is that okay?"

The little girl cracks a smile, nodding happily. "Can I have one now?" She's on her tiptoes, stretching her arms up trying to reach the top of the island, but the surface is way too high for her.

Lydia chuckles. _Anything for my little girl_. "Only when you're all ready for school. We are already running late. So why don't you go and get dressed while I finish up here, okay? And then wash your hands." The girl starts running out of the kitchen and down the hall. "No running, sweetheart."

Lydia can't help but smile at the girl's enthusiasm. Her daughter is taking everything so much better than she is. Obviously it's because the girl is still very young and doesn't remember her father much anyway, but Lydia does. She remembers everything. The way their relationship started after a one-night stand when they were in college. How she endured years of psychological, and sometimes physical, abuse. How he forced her to marry him, threatening to expose her family's financial issues. Raised on a well renowned family, she couldn't have it, so she agreed, even though after a year they were already divorced, his idea. Not that she didn't want to, it's what she wanted the most, but fear kept her in her place beside him then. It was after the divorce she found out. She still vividly remembers the day she told him she was pregnant. It was the worst day of her life. After he snapped and screamed his lungs out, their house, where she stayed after the divorce, was completely shattered. She left that very night. She wouldn't want to admit it, but she considered abortion or giving her baby away, afraid he might do something to her. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, so she kept running. And now, four years later, she is in a new town, starting a new life. She wouldn't have it any other way.

She is startled by her phone buzzing as she finishes putting the muffins in a beautifully decorated box she bought for the occasion and then takes the call.

"Hi mom."

"Hey sweetheart. How are we today?" Her tone is a little apprehensive, Lydia notices.

"Well, okay, I guess. Considering… I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

"And our baby girl?" Lydia smiles.

"Oh, she's happy. We made chocolate muffins." At the mention, the red-haired girl comes running from the bathroom, hands still wet, a black band almost slipping from its place at her waist. "I'll put you on speaker," says Lydia, sitting the girl in one of the seats from her kitchen's island and drying her hands, then tying the black band in a ribbon on the girl's back.

"Hi, Nana." The girl screams and Natalie laughs on the other side of the line as her granddaughter greets her.

"Hey, little angel. Ready for your first day?"

The girl grabs one of the muffins and stuffs her mouth. "Mommy made muffins and I have a new dress."

"Oh you do? I bet you look pretty." All three of them smile.

"She does. It's that blue dress I told you about the other day. I think it's only appropriate. One is never too young to make an impression, right?" Lydia is smiling.

"Please take pictures. I wanna see." Natalie knew being away from her girls wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done. For their sake. "I will call you later and you can tell me all about your new friends, okay?"

The girl just nods, focusing on drinking her milk. Lydia takes her mom of speaker. "I'll take pictures. Don't worry. We should be going. Don't wanna be late on her first day."

Natalie waits a moment, hesitant. She doesn't want to impose but she needs to now they are okay. "Is it alright if I stop by this weekend and we can spend some time together? I miss you…"

"Mom, we saw you just last week before we came here."

"Well, last week I could meet you in ten minutes. Now it's more like four hours."

"All the more reason for you not to come, mom, but sure, why not? And don't worry, we'll be okay."

"I really hope you will."

xxxxxxxxxx

After she hung up on her mom and the girl was finished with her breakfast, Lydia did both their hairs. The girl's upper half was pushed back in a ponytail with a beautiful blue ribbon, as the lower half was loose, her strawberry blonde locks free. Her hair was long, reaching her waist, just like Lydia's. The girl was a vision. Her satin dress has two shades of blue, that Lydia complemented with the black band she tied before. Her shoes are also black, very simple. _She looks just like her_, Lydia thinks, smiling.

She takes a picture of her daughter that she sends to Natalie, and not ten minutes later they are out the door. They make it to pre-school just in time. The little girl is impatient to get in, pulling Lydia by the hand as the woman tries to balance the box with the muffins on her other arm. Turning around a corner, she doesn't notice the man that is coming in their direction, so she bumps into him. Thank god for good reflexes, he caught the box before it found the ground. No damage.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" His voice is soft, but somewhat concerned. His hand grabs her arm to steady her as he returns the box. His touch is warm. "I didn't see where I was going…"

"It's fine. I'm okay. I didn't see either…" She looks up to flash him a reassuring smile, but as soon as they lock eyes she's lost in thought. His eyes are a light brown, almost amber, and they are deep. So deep she momentarily forgets she still has her daughter with her and looks down at the girl, glad to know she has something else to look at because she's sure she's blushing.

Also flushed, he follows her gaze and gets down on his heels, directing his attention to the little girl. She has the most beautiful red hair and green eyes, just like the woman beside her, who he's assuming is her mother. And he can't place it, but somehow the little girl looks familiar.

"Hey honey, are you okay?"

The girl nods, extending her little hand to him. "Hello."

He takes her hand. "Hello to you too. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Lydia is amazed with their brief interaction. Even though her daughter talks pretty much every time she can, she only does it when she is around familiar faces. She's very shy to anyone else, so this is a first. She watches as the girl shakes her head, smiling at him. Definitely a first.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." He smiles back, standing up. "Both of you." He rubs the back of his neck. "Hm are you from around? I don't think I-"

He's interrupted by a child running to his side, a boy, around the little girl's age. He's wearing a simple white shirt and blue jeans, and is brown haired, like the man. His jeans are not buttoned, so he probably just came from the bathroom. "I'm ready. Can I go?"

The man turns to the child, buttoning the jeans, laughing. "Okay, what did I taught about manners?" He turns to Lydia and her daughter. "What do we do when we meet pretty girls?"

The little boy seems embarrassed but takes a step forward and reaches for the little girl's hand, planting a small kiss on her knuckles. Both their faces are red. "It's nice to meet you."

The girl just nods, looking up nervously to her mom. Lydia doesn't think she can handle so much cuteness. "It's okay sweetie," she says.

The girl turns to the boy again "It's nice to meet you too," she says timidly.

"Making friends already, are we?" The voice comes from behind the man. A tall woman, probably in her thirties, approaches them. "Miss Martin?" She reaches for Lydia's hand and she shakes.

"Yes. You must be Miss Hale. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"Please, call me Cora. And you" she faces the little girl, smiling, "must be my new apprentice."

The girl proceeds like she did with the man. "Hello." Curiosity gets the best of her. "Apprentice?"

The teacher laughs. "Yes. You're gonna learn so many things, you'll see…"

The girl almost can't contain her excitement. She really likes to learn, just like Lydia.

"Well, aren't you cute." She turns to Lydia. "I'm gonna take her inside now. Mr. Lahey, the Director, will only be able to see you in about forty minutes, though, as he's running late. He apologizes for the inconvenience."

"Oh, it's fine. And here." She hands the box to Cora. "Just a little something for the class."

"It's muffins." The little girl almost screams, excited.

Cora smiles. "Thank you. I'll make sure they know they are from you. Are you ready?"

The girl squeezes her mom's hand and Lydia gets down and kisses her hair. "Go on. I'll pick you up later, okay?"

Her daughter barely nods and she's already beside her teacher, eager for her new adventures. Cora turns to face the man. "Mr. Stilinski, I think it's his time to come as well…" She nods to the boy at his side, and starts walking, girl in hand.

Caught off guard looking at the redhead, he mumbles, "Oh- Of course." He turns his attention to the kid. "Okay big boy. Off you go". They exchange what Lydia supposes is a private handshake and the boy runs to catch up with the teacher, leaving Lydia and the man standing awkwardly in the hallway. She's the one breaking the silence.

"Is he yours?" she motions in the direction to where the boy ran off.

"Who? Eric?" He rubs the back of his neck again, surprised that she's talking to him. "He's my nephew, and my godson. I usually drive him to and from school." He starts rambling. "How cute were they…" He stops when he sees that the woman has her hands on her mouth, looking shocked. "Everything okay?"

Lydia can't believe it. It's like it is some sort of sign. "Eric? That's his name?"

"Hm yeah, why?"

She smiles. "Her name is Ariel."

He smiles back at her, skeptical. "Really? Holy shit…" He covers his mouth immediately, realizing they are still inside the school. They both laugh and start heading out. "Ariel and Eric! That's… It's like it's meant to be."

"And that kiss-on-the-hand thing? So charming." She smirks at him. "Not very subtle, though."

He laughs. "Well, he has to learn how to win the ladies' affections, right?" Then he suddenly remembers. "Wait- Her dress. It looks like the one from 'The Little Mermaid', right?" She nods. "Wow, that's just… She looked adorable."

"She is," she says, more to herself than to him. "And I'm Lydia, by the way."

"Stiles," he says, reaching for her hand.

Both their breaths quicken when they touch, like an electric current is flowing from one to the other. Their contact sure lasts longer than it should, but none of them wants to break it. Mesmerized, they look into each other's eyes. Lydia hadn't noticed how tall he is, or how handsome. He's probably around her age but looks younger. His hair is messy and he has moles on his face and his neck. He's built, not much, and his muscles are just defined enough for her to lose her thoughts again as she studies them. She has to shake her head.

"Th- That's an odd name," she says, taking back her hand.

His mind was wandering too. "Hm nickname, actually." They try to avert each other's gaze, both a little embarrassed, both not succeeding. "So I- I'm gonna go grab some coffee before work. There are some great coffee shops across the street…"

She notices he's scratching the back of his neck again. It has to be some habit he picked up when he's nervous. She curses herself that she's even considering it, but she can feel something pulling them together, and the words are out before she knows it. "Mind if I join you?"

**Author's Note:** **I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 1! Please hit the comments or send me a message and tell me what you think. Also check out "Mysterious ways" :) I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Here's chapter 2! I can't begin to tell you how much fun I'm having with this fic. I love it. This summary sucks but I don't want to give much away, so go on. Happy reading :)**

**Chapter 2**

She chooses a small coffee shop down the street. Stiles knows the place, a friend of his is the owner. He just hopes he's not there right now or it will be weird. The coffee shop is small, cozy, more rustic than the other ones, almost more private. It suits them. The way Lydia and Stiles touched was something he never experienced before, but it felt right, familiar somehow. But that can't be. If they had met before, he sure wouldn't forget about that.

Feeling like she imposed on his own alone time, Lydia insisted on getting their drinks while he picked a table for them by the window, but Stiles nods to his friend, who _of course_ had to be working, letting him know he'd be the one paying for the coffees, not her. The guy behind the bar nods in agreement, smiling. As the woman waits for their drinks, her back facing him, Stiles stares at her. She's probably the most beautiful woman he's met. Her long hair is not so much red, more like strawberry blonde, and those green eyes… Her skin looks like marble and she's much shorter than him, her head reaching about the height of his shoulders. She's sexy but her clothes hide her frame a little, with skinny jeans and a large long shirt hanging loose at her waist. And her lips, so full and rosy… He blushes. And _of course_ that's the time she'd choose to come to the table. He quickly lowers his head and stares at his hands like they are the most interesting thing in the world.

"Here," she offers him one of the mugs. "Black coffee, two sugars, right?"

He nods. "Yes, thank you." He notices she's drinking the same thing and raises his eyebrow, doubtful. No one he knows likes their coffee just black.

"Just one sugar," she says smiling. "I like my coffee strong." They are staring at each other and it's disconcerting, but neither wants to look away. It's like they have to.

The guy from the bar brings them some toasts, hiding a smirk when Stiles gives him a glare because _how dare he interrupt their moment?_ When he leaves, Stiles turns to Lydia. "Did you order this?"

"Yes, I skipped breakfast. Guess I got distracted with the muffins this morning. You can have some, if you want."

"You baked those muffins _this morning_?" He tilts his head. "What time did you get up?"

"Around four." She says biting her lip but breaks out laughing as he stares at her, a skeptic look on his face. "I was a little nervous about today and I can't sleep when I'm nervous… It's her first day here."

"Oh. How old is she?"

"She just turned four last month. Eric?"

"He'll be five in a few weeks. She's beautiful." Lydia smiles, taking a sip of her drink. "It's obvious where she got the looks." Stiles didn't mean to say it like that, so openly, and now they are both blushing. He chuckles. "I mean, she's adorable."

Lydia blushed not because she was embarrassed, but because he complimented her. And, _go figure_, the way he said it, she almost believed him. And it's been a while since someone saw her that way. Years, actually. "Thank you. You two are not so bad yourselves," she says grinning.

Stiles gasps, almost spilling his drink and they both laugh. Sure, he has had a few girlfriends but he's not the you're-so-hot-i-wanna-sleep-with-you type of guy, he's usually the friendzoned one, so he's not really used to hear such things. "Oh my god, don't say things like that when I'm drinking. I'll just make a fool of myself." He scratches the back of his neck and tries to hide a smile.

"Sorry," she mutters. "I think you're doing just fine, though."

Their cheeks are red again, but it doesn't matter. They feel comfortable. "So did you two move here? I don't think I've seen you around before…"

"Yeah, we've only been here a week. My office is close and we needed a change anyway, so we moved. An old friend of mine has been talking about Beacon Hills forever, so why not?"

"And what do you do? Your job, I mean…"

"I'm a translator. Mostly just written stuff. I work from home for a publishing house about thirty miles from here, so it's easier for us this way. When I had to fly here to meet them, Ariel had to stay with my mom and it used to be a few days in a row that I didn't get to see her and I'd miss her to death, so it's better this way."

"And hm, her dad?"

"Not in the picture. Let's leave it at that." She pauses and he's obviously embarrassed he asked. "And you?"

"Hm I'm a carpenter. Family business. We have this handcrafted furniture shop that's more my dad's thing. I take care of the toys. I make wooden figures. Tourists love them. It's kind of an iconic thing around here." He smiles shyly and looks down at his hands. "It keeps my hands busy, and my mind. I love it."

It sounds genuine, the way he says it. And she's looking at his hands too. His long, skinny fingers, small bruises and cuts here and there, probably from all the woodwork. The way he moves his hands is a little clumsy, but somehow precise. _Oh the things he could do with those hands…_

She startles out of her reverie when his phone beeps. He checks the text message and starts standing up. "I'll be right back."

As he heads to the bar, she watches him walk away. His figure… Well he's hot. She'd say he's a player with the ladies if he hadn't blushed so hard before, but he sure is nice to look at. Very, very nice. And he probably has a girlfriend. Not a wife though, no rings. But Lydia shouldn't be paying attention to such details. _What am I doing?_

At the bar, Stiles is trying to keep himself together, but the other guy, his friend, is already onto him.

"Are you finally getting out of that drought?"

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying. You got yourself a good one."

"Oh my god will you stop?" Stiles is hissing at him. "Scott just wanted me to tell you we're meeting at 5:30pm. You weren't checking your phone, as per usual."

"Whatever. Just make sure you're focused later or we might take you down on the field."

"You wish." Stiles is smiling now. He's a hell of a soccer player and his friends haven't been able to take him down. Yet. He looks at the redhead, who is now finishing her breakfast. "It's just coffee. She just moved here a couple days ago and she has a little girl. I'm just trying to be nice."

"Yeah, right. Such a gentleman."

"Just remember. 5:30pm. I gotta go." The man nods and Stiles pays their bill. "See you later, Derek."

Approaching the table, Lydia looks a little uncomfortable. "Stiles, did you just pay? You didn't have to do that…"

"I wanted to. I hope that's okay."

She wants to argue but finds herself smiling as she gets up from her seat. "Thank you. Next time is on me then."

She doesn't know why she said it but for some reason their interactions feel natural, easy. He feels exactly the same, but still scratches his neck. "Sure. Hm I have to head out to work…"

"Of course. I have to go too. I have a meeting with Mr. Lahey…"

"So I'll see you around?"

"Definitely."

They are all smiles when they leave the coffee shop.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Dude, dad's gonna kill you. You're late again." Stiles is gesturing to the man that just came in running.

"I know. I'm sorry. We fell asleep."

"She's been crying again?"

"Yeah, it's been crazy lately."

Stiles can't be mad at him. His baby niece has been giving his brother a hard time lately.

"Why don't I babysit tonight? You guys could use a night off…"

His brother's eyes get so big he looks like a pleading puppy. "Are you serious? You'd do that?" Scott is so sleep deprived Stiles is not even sure he notices how desperate and oblivious he sounds.

He chuckles. "Of course. You're my brother. And I already babysit all the time anyway."

"Not all the time," Scott protests.

"Right," he says, a grin on his lips. "And how's Allison?"

"Tired. She can't get much sleep. And she's a little bored, we haven't been out much…"

"We'll think of something," Stiles smiles. "Now come on, let's get to work."

"Not yet. Derek texted me."

Stiles is already blushing, foreseeing what's coming. "And?"

"You tell me. I was just told you went out with some girl."

"I'm gonna kill him. I had coffee with this girl I met when I took _your_ son to preschool, by the way. So it kind of makes this whole situation your fault…"

"Yeah, I totally set you up without even knowing. My bad." They both laugh.

"I don't know. It was just coffee. She is easy to talk to."

"Derek said she's gorgeous. Didn't know you were into redheads, though."

"Shut up."

"So, are you seeing her again?"

"Ariel is in Eric's school so yeah, probably."

"Ariel?"

Stiles' excitement overcomes him. "Her daughter. She's four and she's so cute. You have to see her. A great catch for Eric. Allison's gonna love her."

"You two need to stop that. He's not even five and you keep offering his hand in marriage." Allison and Stiles have developed the habit of encouraging Eric to talk more to girls when they're at the park because he's always so shy with the opposite sex.

"He'll thank me one day, you'll see."

"And what's her mother's name?"

"Lydia."

Stiles knows the way he said her name was a little too enticing, especially for someone he just met, so he blushes, lowering his head. Scott noticed his tone too, but doesn't say anything about it.

"Well maybe you should give her a call, ask her out."

"Shit." Stiles looks panicked.

"What?"

"I didn't get her number. Didn't even think of it." He curses himself for being so out of his game. Sure, he wasn't really good at flirting, but that was kind of a basic move. If she wasn't so distracting, maybe he would have remembered. _Yeah, totally her fault._

"Than it's a good thing you're picking up Eric later. Just make sure you don't forget about him while you're swooning."

Stiles throws something at Scott that gets him right on his stomach and he bends in pain, but laughing. They get to work.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lydia gets home almost three hours later. Her meeting with Mr. Lahey, Isaac, was, as expected, spotless. His preschool had been greatly recommended and he had a good reputation in the community. Still she hadn't expected him to be so young. He was only a little older than her but highly educated and well-spoken. She liked him instantly. And she also got a chance to talk to Miss Hale, Cora, while the kids were at the playground. They are engaged, Cora and Isaac, and will be married soon. And Cora was so nice to Lydia she couldn't be happier about her choice. Sure enough, Ariel would be too.

After the meeting, she did some grocery shopping and drove home, then prepared a light meal while she cleaned up the kitchen from the mess she left this morning. She dedicates her afternoon to unpacking some more of their belongings. She's been dragging the task for days, afraid somehow they might have to leave again soon. The thought terrifies her. Unpacking is also a great excuse not to focus on something that has been on her mind all day. Or a certain someone. Without even noticing, she finds herself several times looking nowhere, lost in thoughts again, until she snaps out of it and reminds herself she's moved here for Ariel and not for her. As long as Ariel is happy, she's happy.

Almost ready to leave and pick her daughter up from preschool, she stares at her reflection in the mirror. She is beautiful, she knows that. But caring about her image has not been her priority for years now. She can't even remember the last time she put up an effort. But a pair of brown eyes and messy brown hair invade her mind and she finds herself wondering. It wouldn't hurt if she tried, right? Just a little bit?

But then she looks at the time and runs out of the house. Across town, she can't find a place to park near enough the building, so she leaves the car a few blocks away. Half walking half running, she's panting when she finally arrives and goes inside. Slowing her pace and steadying her breathing, she's looking for a certain redhead amongst the other kids when she bumps into someone. Again.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Lydia?"

"Stiles?"

They both smile, nervous. "I think we have to stop meeting like this, or one of us might end up getting hurt." He chuckles. She looks beautiful, red all over her cheeks. "You okay?"

She purses her lips together. "Yeah, sorry, I was looking for Ariel."

He turns around. "She's over there, on the sandbox…" Lydia gets closer to him to try and get a better look. The little girl didn't spot her yet. She's playing with Eric and three other kids. They look happy. "I noticed you weren't here and they were playing together anyway so I figured I could stay a little longer, wait for you. To come get her, I mean."

"Oh." _Great, I'm blushing again_. "Thanks. Hm…" She feels uneasy around him, like she's not sure what she's supposed to do, but it's not a bad feeling, not at all. "Should we go get them?"

He feels the same way towards her. "Yeah, of course."

Noticing the grown-ups nearing the sandbox, both Ariel and Eric start running, throwing themselves at them. She kisses the girl on the cheek while the boy shares his handshake with his uncle.

"Eric, why don't you go get your things? And take Ariel with you. We'll wait by the front door, okay?"

The little boy takes the little girl by the hand as they head to their classroom to go get their backpacks and Stiles and Lydia walk the way back to where she knocked him. It's strange how Ariel feels so comfortable around Eric, almost how Lydia feels towards Stiles. It's not something they do lightly, trust someone so implicitly like that. It's not natural to them. But Ariel seems happy, and Lydia is inclined to say she might feel the same way. They came here to start a new life, after all.

They wait until the kids come back, making small talk, and when they are ready to go, both Stiles and Lydia want to say something else, both not knowing exactly what to ask for.

That's when a voice comes from behind them breaking their somewhat awkward moment, a high-pitched shout Lydia could recognize anywhere. "Lydia Martin, is that you?"

And she's already turning around, smiling wide. "Allison?"

**Author's Note:** **So, what do you think? Please review or leave me a message, I love to know what's on everyone's minds. Also check out "Mysterious ways" :) And be warned. ComicCon Portugal is this weekend so I probably won't be able to update for a few days, but I'll do my best to do it as soon as I can! I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Lydia turns around to see a woman with a stroller in front of her, a big smile on her face. The brunette has her hair shorter now, around her shoulders. When Lydia knew her, her hair was long. And she's a little taller, but not much, and she still looks beautiful.

"Oh my god, Allison! I found you!" She almost runs to the girl and they hug for a long time.

"More like _I found you_. When did you get here?"

"Just last week. I lost my phone last month and your number was in it. I couldn't reach you, sorry."

Allison hugs her again. "I don't care. You're here now, that's what matters." They both smile.

Lydia can see Stiles coming closer to both of them but doesn't pay him much attention. This is not about him right now. She turns to the stroller where a beautiful baby girl is asleep. "And who's this?"

"This is Claudia. She's six months old."

"She's beautiful." Lydia can't help but to let out a screech.

Stiles takes a peek at the baby and brushes his fingers on her cute little cheek fondly. "Shh. Lydia, you'll wake her."

Allison pretends to look confused. "Wait, you two know each other?"

Stiles and Lydia look nervously at each other and try to hide their faces, now getting rosy. Obviously, Allison notices, but doesn't say anything.

Lydia is the first to speak. "Hm I only met Stiles this morning. Ariel just started preschool here today and..."

Allison cuts her off. "Who's Ariel?"

Stiles answers. "It's her daughter. Oh just wait for her, Ally, she's gorgeous."

Lydia is a little perplexed that Stiles would answer for her about something so personal. They barely know each other. But it didn't really bother her. And the way he said it was... Well, caring, for the lack of a better word. He already sounds more invested in her daughter's life than her father ever did.

Allison looks shocked. "God. Lydia Martin, a mother? That's something I never thought would happen." There's a smirk all over her face that Lydia returns.

"I could say the same about you!" They both laugh.

"Well, this is fun and all, but I have questions," Stiles intervenes, feeling a little out of place. The girls turn to him. "Okay. First, how do you two know each other? And second, Ally what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, what am i doing here? I came to pick up Eric. It was my turn."

"Allison, I know you've been tired and all, but you gotta pay attention. I texted you this morning offering to come pick him up, and you actually replied saying _'thanks, you're a life saver',_" he says, mimicking Allison.

Allison looks stunned. "I did?"

Stiles tries not to laugh. "I love you, Ally, I do. But you need to rest, like asap. And now, back to question one."

Lydia was amused seeing their interactions and was lost, again, paying attention to his hands. He moves them a lot when he talks. She didn't even notice Stiles was talking to her, so thank god Allison answered his question. "We met when Lydia was attending college. I worked at a bar she used to go to."

"Oh so you've known each other for a while..." Stiles is cursing Allison in his head so bad. Why on Earth hadn't she ever mentioned Lydia?

"Yeah, a few years. We still kept in touch for a while after college, but then life happened, like it always does, and we kind of drift apart, I guess..." Alison looks a little sad.

Lydia continues, addressing Stiles. "Allison was actually the friend who kept telling me about Beacon Hills. She had been away for a few years when we met, but when her mom passed away, she kept telling me she wanted to come back and would tell me great things about this town. She made me feel drawn here." She turns to Allison. "And I wanted to find you; I could use a familiar face around here." Both girls smile.

Okay, so maybe Stiles shouldn't have cursed Allison. How rude of him. He's about to open his mouth when Allison interrupts him, a little aggression in her tone.

"Wait, are you still with that jerk Jackson?"

Lydia blushes and shakes her head and, as if on cue, Ariel and Eric come running to them. She whispers to Allison. "No, but maybe we can talk about it some other time?"

Allison nods, but is doing it in slow motion because her eyes are fixated in the cutest little girl she's ever seen (aside from Claudia, of course). "Oh my god, is that Ariel?"

Stiles grins. "What did I tell you?"

Lydia grabs Ariel by the hand and expects to see Eric by Stiles' side, but the boy is with Allison. And they actually look alike. "Wait, Eric's your son too?" Allison nods, her hand playing with the boy's hair. Lydia turns to Stiles. "So what does that make you?"

"Brother-in-law. But Ally is actually like my sister."

"Awww." Allison makes a face. "You're the best, Stiles."

He smiles at Allison, then at Lydia. "She just says that to make me babysit. Ouch." Allison had pinched him in the arm.

"Shut up. You love it." She laughs, but her attention is suddenly requested by Eric. She bends down a little, enough for the boy to whisper in her ear. Lydia glances at Stiles, but he's looking down, making faces at Ariel. The girl is actually laughing back at him.

"Okay. Hm let's see." Allison gets up, putting her hands on Eric's shoulders, facing Lydia with a big smile on her face. "Eric wants me to ask you if Ariel can come and play with him later."

Lydia stares at Ariel, unsure. She really wants time with Allison, it's one of the reasons she came to Beacon Hills. But should she?

Allison doesn't give her much time to think. "Please, Lydia, come. We have so much to catch up on. And you could meet the whole pack. We always get together at the park every afternoon. You'll love it. And Ariel will have plenty of other kids to play with. And besides it's Thursday. The week is already ending anyways and I'm sure Cora won't mind if Ariel is a little tired tomorrow. Hell, she'll love to get to know her better."

"I'm not sure I follow..."

"Cora is part of the pack. Our group, I mean. You'll love everyone. Please come. Pretty please." She's making Lydia puppy eyes now.

"Oh god, I haven't seen those in years." She laughs and turns to Ariel. "What do you say? You want to play with Eric later?" Part of her hopes her daughter will say no, but the rest of her wants the girl to scream yes.

Ariel nods a little reluctantly now that the attention is on her, but manages a little smile.

"It's settled then," says Allison. "We usually meet in a park about three miles from here, but you'll never find our spot by yourself. So I'll meet you here at six and you can follow my car. Sounds good?"

Lydia looks at her watch. If she leaves now, they have time to go home and change, grab something to eat. "Sure."

"Great." Allison looks like a teenager, excited as she is. "Here," she hands Lydia her cellphone. "Just type your number and I'll ring you so you can save mine." Lydia obeys and before they all leave, Allison makes sure to make her move, just like she and Lydia did for one another back in college. "Oh, and you should get Stiles' number too. You never know when you'll need it." Allison is grinning.

Both Stiles and Lydia go scarlet, but they do it anyway, their hands touching again when they exchange phones. They both pretend nothing happened because Allison can't take her eyes off of them, but they still feel it in their skin, that strange warmth.

Lydia and Ariel head home and Stiles offers Allison and the kids a ride so he can have the chance to bring hell on Allison.

Already inside his car, Allison speaks first. "Before you say anything, you should know I did it for both of you."

"What? Embarrass us to death? Gee thanks." He's frowning but wants to laugh at the same time. "I was gonna ask for her number, okay?"

"Well, Scott mentioned some girl named Lydia and that you guys had something this morning and that you, _of course_, forgot to ask her for her number. I just didn't know it was this Lydia and by the way I'm really _really_ glad it is. So I just gave a little push." She smiles, a little proud of herself.

"Oh my god. We didn't have something this morning, we had coffee. _Just coffee_, Allison. Why is everyone making such a big deal out of this?" His fingers are fidgeting nervously on the wheel.

"Maybe because it's been awhile, you know..." She's speaking lower now. "We worry about you. It's about time you get out there again."

"Allison, don't..." His voice is suddenly weaker, broken.

"Listen. Lydia is amazing and she's been through a lot too. You have no idea." His head turns to face her briefly before turning to the road again. "Maybe this will be good for both of you. I'm not saying you should go and hm..." She turns her head to her kids on the backseat and clears her throat. "... _you know_. Just get to know her, give it a chance."

She offers him a shy smile. And she means every word she said. Sure, she hasn't been with Lydia for years now, but things probably haven't been that good if the redhead moved miles away from home and still won't talk that openly about that jerk. And Stiles' torment is different, darker in its own way, but somehow Allison figures they may be perfect for each other. And she's sure they already picked up on it, even if they only met this morning. Those looks were _so not innocent_, but she chooses to not bring it up for now.

They drive quietly the rest of the way.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lydia is obviously nervous by the time she gets home. Why would she agree to that? Of course deep down she knows. She craves human interaction, it's part of her biological needs. And to be fair it's been years since she hung out with anyone, probably since Allison, and she can see the light it could bring to their lives. Ariel would certainly benefit from it, she needed to be around people too. But it scared Lydia. When things started to go right in the past, something would go wrong and they would be again at square one. But she shakes her head at the thought. Jackson was the something that happened but he wasn't here now, so things couldn't go wrong, right?

She prepares a snack for herself and Ariel and lets the girl choose a few toys to take with her to the park while Lydia changes. In front of the mirror, Lydia stares at her image, remembering what she was like when she met Allison. Fierce, certainly, and a leader, just not with Jackson. And she would always dress like she was about to hit the runway, low necklines and short skirts. How times have changed.

She stills wants to feel a little sexy, though. It's been a while. She takes off her clothes and finds a pair of skinny black jeans with a high waist and a white silk shirt that she knots at her waist on the side right above her jeans, with just enough cleavage to show what she's got but definitely not too much that it would be considered inappropriate. She ties her hair low, to the side, and curls it, and applies little to no makeup, just a little lipstick and mascara. Looking at herself again through the mirror, she can already see the difference. She might even look a little younger. And the fabric from her shirt is a little sparkly, contrasting enough with her hair and her eyes to make her look so much better.

"Mommy, you look beautiful." Lydia didn't even notice Ariel had made her way into the room.

"You wanna help me pick up a necklace?"

The girl nods and heads to Lydia's vanity. "This one." It's a long necklace with a starfish pendant in silver, Ariel's favorite.

"Of course." She smiles and kisses Ariel's cheek. "Are you ready to go?" The girl nods.

Putting on some sandals and grabbing her purse, Lydia takes Ariel and they head out the door.

xxxxxxxxxx

Allison and Lydia already passed the park's entrance but Allison keeps driving, so Lydia follows. They stop by the edge of the woods, getting out of their cars. Ariel runs to Eric and Lydia joins them as Allison gets Claudia on her stroller.

"Aren't we a little close to the woods?" Lydia sounds a little hesitant.

"Oh right. Forgot that you've never been here. There's a clearing right over there..." She points to where Eric is currently leading them. Lydia can already see people there. "The boys turned it into a soccer field and there are a few picnic tables for us. At least that's where we usually sit, the girls, I mean. And the playground for the kids is close enough so that we can keep an eye on them and still check out the boys." She winks at Lydia, smiling. "And it's totally safe, I swear."

When they get there, Lydia knows she made the right choice. The clearing is beautiful and wide, green everywhere. Allison is waving at the boys playing on the field and Lydia heads with her for one of the tables. She takes it all in. There are eight men playing at the soccer field and another one on the sidelines, who she assumes is playing referee. She can hear his whistle from where she stands. At the tables, two girls wave at Allison and Lydia, one of them being Cora. At the next table sit an older couple with a baby and a guy with another baby on his lap. Children are all around. In fact, there are a lot of children. She smiles. She already knows they belong here.

As soon as they get to the table, Cora is already smiling. "I hope this is not too weird for you."

Lydia dismisses it quickly. "Of course not. I'm glad we came," she says, her hands resting on Ariel's shoulders.

Allison excitedly introduces her, turning her attention to both tables. "Well this is Lydia. She'll become part of our family in no time." She laughs and Lydia blushes, managing a smile and waving at them. Allison gestures to the girl sitting across from Cora. "This is Braeden. Derek's wife." She turns pointing to one of the boys on the field. "Three kids, somewhere around here..."

"Oh don't be like that," Braeden answers, smiling to Lydia. "She always does that. Somehow she thinks our kids are much more hyperactive than she expects hers to be. It's nice to meet you."

Lydia returns the compliment and whispers to Allison. "He works at a coffee shop, doesn't he?" She's assuming he's the guy from this morning, but the field is a little far away for her to be sure. Allison smirks at her, so _yeah, he's the guy_.

Turning her attention to the second table, Allison continues. "These are my in-laws, John and Melissa..." they wave at Lydia. Lydia gestures for the girl in Melissa's arms. "... and this is little Emma. She's two. And this" she turns to the other man "is the nicest guy you'll ever meet in your life, I swear to god," says Allison, patting him on the back.

He extends his hand to Lydia and she shakes it. "I'm Danny. Allison won't shut up about you." he says smiling.

"Yeah, I missed that about her. And this little guy?" She gestures to the baby boy on his lap.

"This is Noah. He's turning one this weekend."

She smiles and lets one of her fingers be wrapped by Noah's little hand, speaking with him playfully. She doesn't notice the two boys that come running towards them from the soccer field.

"So you're Lydia, hm?" Not recognizing the voice, she turns around to face a brown-haired boy, who looks like he is attached to the hip with Allison.

She speaks for him. "This is my husband, Scott." He shakes Lydia's hand, all smiles. "And I believe you already met Stiles." Allison gestures to the boy next to Scott.

Lydia figures she must be in some alternate reality. _Right?_ Because Stiles is looking at her in a way that makes her insides clench and he's panting, probably from all the running, and covered in sweat, his hair wet and his t-shirt gripping his torso in a way she's sure is illegal.

_Oh, this will be interesting_.

**Author's note: I'm really having fun with this fic! Next chapter will continue their afternoon at the park. As always, feedback is much appreciated, so review or leave me a message with your intake or any ideas you might have :) I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Melissa is the one addressing Lydia. "You look a little flushed."

If Lydia could dig up her grave right then and there, she would. Allison breaks out laughing and Scott follows. Stiles is just looking at his feet.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just spaced out for a minute. I think it's all the fresh air." That seems to do it for Melissa but certainly not for Allison, who is now just laughing harder, almost to the point of not breathing. _Great, Lydia_.

"What's so funny?" The voice sounds familiar, so Lydia turns around. There are a lot of people behind them, like _a lot_ of people. Isaac is the one who spoke.

"Hi, Isaac. Allison is the one who won't stop laughing so I wouldn't know," Lydia says innocently.

"Well, maybe I should share," she snarls back at Lydia. She can see the game in her eyes. It's like she's in college all over again. God, how Lydia missed it.

Lydia turns to the others, a smirk in her face. "Weren't you gonna introduce us, Allison?"

"Oh right." Allison recomposes herself, biting her lips so she can control better her need to laugh. She clears her throat. "Everyone, assemble."

And quickly everyone starts moving around and Lydia doesn't understand what's happening. Until she does. They are getting together for what she assumes is each respective family. It seems all the boys that were on the field are now here and children came running from the playground to join them. Scared a little about the sudden chaos, Ariel gets closer to Lydia.

Everyone is smiling. They probably enjoy this. Once all of them seem to be at their places, Allison speaks up. "Okay so everyone, this is Lydia. She's an old friend of mine and just moved here last week. And that is her little girl Ariel." Allison smiles at Lydia and goes stand by her side, putting her arm around Lydia's waist. "They are family now."

Lydia returns the smile and embraces her too. She really missed Allison. Aside from her mom, she's the only person she knew who made her feel like she was home. Allison starts the introductions, from the left to right.

"Okay so Braeden is married to Derek." Derek nods at Lydia, a smile hiding on his lips. She blushes. "And those are the brats." The kids make a face at Allison, laughing nervously. "Carter is their only boy, he's 8. Then there's Charlotte, 6, and Chloe. She's 3." The kids wave at Lydia and she smiles. "Then we have Cora and Isaac, you already met them. Cora is Derek's sister."

"That I didn't know."

"Then we have Danny. He's with Ethan," Allison waves at him. "They just adopted little Noah. And at Ethan's left is Aiden, his twin brother."

"I figured as much, Allison." They all laugh.

"Well you already know us. Scott and I are married and have Eric and Claudia. Then there's Stiles." She pauses, glancing briefly at Lydia, then continuing. "John and Melissa are Scott and Stiles' parents and adopted Emma. And the only two left are Liam and Mason." They boys wave.

A whistle blows behind the group, startling everyone. "And what about me? Am I not a part of your little clique?"

Everyone laughs loudly. Scott pats the older man on the back and brings him up front. "Lydia, this is Coach. We played lacrosse on his team when he teached high school. Now he's finally gone pro and teaches college. Liam and Mason play on his team there. He's a part of our family too."

"I was always a pro, McCall."

Allison finishes. "Well I think that's everyone. At least from who is present. You have nothing to worry about, Lydia. You two will fit right in."

xxxxxxxxxx

They do. After all introductions were made, the boys resumed the game and the kids led Ariel by the hand to the playground. Lydia sat at the table with Allison, joining the others who were there before. Danny is the only one who left, now walking around the park with Noah.

"Some family you got here," she says, turning to John and Melissa. "Did you always want a big family?" The couple exchanges a look that makes Lydia feel a little uncomfortable, like she said the wrong thing. "Oh, I shouldn't have..."

"Oh honey it's fine, don't worry. You won't know if no one tells you, right?" She smiles at Lydia and moves on her seat so that she's facing her. "So my husband left me when Scott was just a kid and Stiles' mom..." She glances at John, putting her hand above his and squeezing softly. "She passed away when he was little too. And Scott and Stiles are best friends, always were. Like brothers, really. They are inseparable, so inevitably all of us spent a lot of time together. Around the time the guys were in high school, we started dating and got married after their graduation. And not too long ago we decided to adopt this little girl. I guess it was about time, you know?"

John continues. "What she's trying to say is yes, we wanted a big family, but life happened and things got in the way. But we're getting the hang of it now. And our family is so much more than blood." He looks around. "It's more than we could have asked for." They look at each other and kiss, and it's a kiss so full of love Lydia almost looks away. It's not something she sees every day, unfortunately.

She turns to Braeden. "And why three C's?"

Braeden laughs. "It's kind of stupid actually. Derek and I were out the night I found out I was pregnant with Carter and we'd had a little too much to drink, so somehow we agreed that as my name started with a B and his with a D, it was logical that our kids should have names that start with C. We chose a lot of names that night and some just wouldn't get out of our heads the next day, so we sticked with it."

"Well, they are adorable."

"Oh just wait." Allison retorts. "They don't stop, like ever. They are always running around."

"Well they are kids, Allison. Not all of them can be shy and quiet like Eric."

Lydia intervenes. "He didn't look so shy. Not with Ariel, anyway. Just a little at first, maybe..."

"Well I think he likes her. They are so cute together!"

Everyone turns to the playground, happiness on their faces as they see their kids.

"You sound like Stiles. He said the same this morning," Lydia points out.

Allison lowers her voice. "So we are talking about Stiles now, is it?"

Lydia gets defensive. "No, I meant..."

"You and I are going for a walk. _There's a lot_ we have to catch up on." Allison doesn't even let Lydia answer. Just grabs her arm. "Braeden, would you please keep an eye on the kids? Since obviously Cora's mind is somewhere else."

At the sound of her name, Cora turns to the girls. She's been sitting on the table with them the whole time, but it's like she's not even there. "What?"

"Let me guess. Daydreaming of Isaac again?"

"Can you blame me? He's hot and he's gonna marry me. And have you seen him running? God, is it hot in here?"

The girls laugh. Allison starts leading Lydia away taking Claudia with them on her arms, only turning around to mutter to the others "We might take a while."

xxxxxxxxxx

On the field, the boys take a water break. They are just playing for the fun of it, but Coach likes to keep them in their place. Or he likes to pretend he still has some kind of power over them, which he does not, at all, but they love him so they let him.

"Maybe you should step up your game, Stiles." Scott figures a little teasing can't hurt much.

"Dude, what now?"

"You're a great player, man, actually you're the best player we've got, so maybe you should put on a show, you know, let her know how good you are..."

"Is this about Lydia? Because I swear to god Scott, you and Allison will be the death of me. Just please let it go..."

"Stiles..."

"Scott, I can take care of myself, thank you very much. We had coffee and we talked, okay, and we kind of had a _thing_, but... Scott, she's a twelve out of a ten, minimum, are you kidding me? And I'm an eight, tops." Scott snorts. "Okay, more like six and a half. I will probably never talk to her again anyway,.."

Scott interrupts him. "I seriously doubt that."

"Dude, either you just found out you trust me way more than I thought you did or you hit your head pretty hard. Or you're delusional." He takes a sip of his water.

Scott smiles. "Neither. She's coming here." Stiles almost chokes.

xxxxxxxxxx

They start walking on a trail that goes around the entire clearing. They walk slowly, a little nervous that they are by themselves for the first time. It's been years. Lydia speaks first.

"Can I ask something?" Allison nods. "Would you mind if I picked up Claudia for a little while?" Lydia is blushing as she asks. "I haven't held a baby since Ariel, and Claudia is looking at me like that and I really wanna hold her."

Allison laughs. "Of course." She passes Claudia to Lydia, who's delighted. "She does give us the look, right?"

Lydia smiles. "It's amazing, Ally. What you have here, your family. It's just... Amazing."

"I meant it, you know. When I left? I told you I'd be waiting for you when you were ready. I'm just a little sad it took so long..." Allison grabs Lydia's arm and holds her tight.

"I'm sorry," Lydia whispers. "You know I had too much to lose. I couldn't risk my parent's good name or my degree. I worked so hard for it..." She pauses. "We got married right after you left, did you know? He almost didn't give me time to tell anyone. Jackson was just waiting for you to leave. He actually blamed you more than once, said you were the one holding me back."

"Bastard," Allison mutters, shrugging her shoulders. "But I actually was, so maybe he wasn't as stupid as I thought he was." She glances at Lydia with concern now. "Did things get better?"

"Not really, no. More of the same." Lydia blushes, ashamed. Allison knew Jackson would beat her up sometimes, aside from the constant shouting and arguing and all the threats. but the complaint had to come from Lydia or it wouldn't follow, so Allison would give Lydia the support she would take. "But it wasn't for long, not after you left. I got out as soon as I found out about Ariel. I am not willing to risk her."

"I'm glad you're safe now. And your parents?"

"Got divorced, as expected. I stayed with my mom after I left him."

"She was so much fun. I miss her."

"Oh she'll come by soon. She'll love to see you."

Allison smiles. "How is she taking you being so far away?"

"She's managing, I guess. But it's only been over a week and she already wants to come and visit, so maybe not that well." Lydia smiles back. "And your dad, how is he?"

"Perfect, as always. Lots of hunting trips. He's not around much, been travelling a lot. But he's happy. I'll make sure to let him know you're here."

They walk for a little while in silence with Lydia playing with Claudia all the time. "I can't begin to tell you how much I missed having a baby in my arms." She smiles wide. "When Ariel was born, we moved a lot. I was terrified that Jackson would show up. Guess I never really enjoyed my time with her in the beginning."

"Well, no worries, my friend. Lots of babies around here."

"I noticed. And I meant it. Your family is amazing. After all your mom put you through, being as demanding as she was... I'm proud of you, Ally."

"Aww," Allison catches a tear that's about to fall. "You'll make me cry," she says laughing.

"I love you. I missed saying that." She hugs the brunette.

"I love you too. And you're a part of this family now. I'm not letting you go anywhere."

They smile and keep walking, talking to little Claudia, who's now playing with Lydia's necklace. They haven't noticed they were so close to the soccer field, so Scott's shout startles them.

"Hey Allison, Lydia. Come here."

The girls exchange a glance and start heading towards them. He's with Stiles near one of the benches, far away just enough for Allison to strike again before they get there.

"So, what's up with you and Stiles?"

"What do you mean?" She tries to sound uninterested, but even to herself it didn't sound convincing.

Allison smirks. "You can't tell me there's nothing there."

It really is like they are back in college. They would do this to the other all the time. Lydia smiles, a mischievous look on her face. "Then I'm not saying anything."

They both laugh.

"Going for a walk?" Scott asks.

"Yeah, Lydia needed some fresh air." Allison laughs.

Lydia elbows her, dismissing her answer. "Yes, Scott. We were just catching up. She should know better than to make fun of someone who's currently holding her baby daughter, though." Scott smiles. Lydia looks at Claudia and kisses her forehead, then holds the cord of her necklace so Claudia can play with the pendant.

Allison and Scott start talking about something else, but Stiles steps closer. "You shouldn't let her do that." He gently grabs the pendant from Claudia and returns it to Lydia's hands. "She usually breaks the necklaces or tries to strangle someone. She's pretty strong." He chuckles, turning his attention to the baby. "You are a little demon, aren't you?" He's playful and the baby must think he said something interesting because she's laughing like he's the most funny guy in the world.

He didn't even do anything, really. He just stepped closer, and touched Lydia's hand again, and now he's playing with a baby. Totally ordinary, _right? No_, because for some reason Lydia's heart is now racing and he's really close and she doesn't know what to do.

Claudia reaches her arms to him. "Oh sweetie, I can't hold you," he whispers to the baby, smiling, cupping her cheeks. "I'm all sweaty."

_Great, like I needed a reminder_. Lydia bites her lower lip.

Allison breaks the moment right when Lydia lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Well, Coach will be coming for you guys soon if you don't resume the game, so we're gonna keep going."

Stiles took a step back as soon as Allison spoke. For a minute he forgot there were other people there aside from Lydia and Claudia.

Allison continues. "And I don't wanna be rude but right now I want Lydia all to myself," she says grinning.

Stiles is about to say something but Allison doesn't let him finish. "Don't worry, you can have her later." She takes Lydia by the arm again turning around quickly, so neither Stiles nor Lydia see the other's face, now completely red.

**Author's note: So, what do you guys think so far? Hit the comments or send me a message :) Also I just posted Chapter 8 of "Mysterious ways" a few hours ago, so make sure you check it out. I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: ****First of all, let me apologize for all the misspelling on the last two chapters. I wasn't home for a few days and the keyboard I was using with my tablet kept skipping a few letters or double entering them, and I was in such a rush to update I didn't proofread and I'm sorry. I think I have it covered now, so you can reread chapters 3 and 4 if you want to. Have fun and happy reading :)**

**Chapter 5**

Lydia waits for them to be far enough from the boys to slap Allison's arm playfully. "Why did you do that for?"

"What? I didn't do anything." Allison looks back at her with the most innocent face she can pull off.

"Ally, I just got here. And I know it feels like everything is the same as back then, it really does," she says smiling, "but things are different, okay? I'm different. And then there's Ariel…"

"Lydia…"

"He seems like a great guy, Ally. I wouldn't want to… Hm…"

"To what, Lyds?" She raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know, Allison. He seems really nice. I wouldn't want to mess it up or anything. We just met."

"You two are more alike than you think. But I'll stop…" she says, raising her arms in defeat. Lydia smiles back. "… if you'll consider it." Lydia's head falls down to her chest, her cheeks rosy. Allison laughs. "I'm just saying, think about it, okay? I promise I won't do it again."

Lydia gives her a suspicious look, but the girl seems to have resigned, at least for now.

Together they head back to the tables, and soon after everyone leaves for the night. After dinner, when Lydia is tucking Ariel into bed, the little girl won't stop rambling about the friends she made and how much she liked school and everyone. When she finally fell asleep, completely tired but a faint smile on her lips, Lydia can't help but smile too.

xxxxxxxxxx

Turns out Allison didn't need to do anything.

Days went by and everyone seems to fit together. By Sunday Lydia and Ariel are invited to Noah's first birthday party and during the following weeks they occasionally get together with the rest of the group. After a month, it's like they always belonged there.

For Lydia it wasn't hard fitting in. Before Jackson she was incredibly social. Her high school years practically consisted of socially climbing the ladder to become a queen of her own, something she has learned to regret over the years. She never really made friends and usually hid her intelligence. In college, things changed. In her first year, she finally met a few people that cared about her enough, Allison among them, and she was no longer hiding. It was probably the most carefree year of her life but it didn't last long. Early in her second year, she met Jackson and things changed again. Since then, she has kept to herself, too afraid to trust anyone other than her family members. That's how she felt safe.

She couldn't be happier to have found Beacon Hills, though. Having Allison in her life again was a blessing. And with the others it didn't took long for her to start trusting them. It was easy and came natural to all of them.

Her main concern was Ariel. With Lydia being a single parent, the girl behaved a lot like her and usually only trusted family, so when they became close with the group, she expected Ariel to be more reserved, and the girl was shy so she figured it would take her a while to get used to it. It was quite the opposite. The way she bonded with everyone instantly was endearing and the little girl was slowly starting to become more confident and socially involved. Even the change of town and preschool didn't seem to affect her much, not negatively anyway. Ariel was happy so she was happy. Allison and Cora were great with Ariel and the girl loved Danny and Noah. Danny, being a very smart guy, kept teaching things to Ariel and she loved it. Also, Claudia being the youngest of all the kids had her stunned. She never interacted like that with a baby.

What made Lydia's heart melt the most, however, was how Ariel got along with Stiles. She just couldn't get enough of him. Every time the group got together, Lydia would notice how he usually spent more time with the kids than with the grown-ups. And he was actually great with them. The kids loved him, no exceptions, and he seemed to enjoy it. She also noticed how much attention he paid to Ariel. She saw how sometimes the little girl would struggle when she didn't know if something was okay to ask of him, but it was like he already had everything worked out. Just two weeks ago, when they were all together at Derek's and it was getting late, she came to find Stiles sitting on the couch with Ariel lying next to him, her head resting on his lap as she fell asleep while he read her a story. And the weekend after that, Lydia counted the minutes he would spend talking to the little girl, amusing her and answering all of her question. It had been over an hour. It's something Lydia hadn't thought about before, how having male figures in Ariel's life would affect both of them.

Allison had managed to keep her part of the deal, but somehow Lydia and Stiles became close right away on their own. Just friends, of course, but Lydia was speechless when it came to him. How selfless and kind and smart and funny he was. Good looks aside, even though it most certainly was a part of Lydia's interest in him, his personality was so charming and appealing to her that she gave into him the same way Ariel did, inevitably. They hadn't spent any time alone since they met, always surrounded by the others, but they still got to know each other. He didn't talk too much about his past and neither did she, which was probably for the best, but they still got hints of what happened with the other's life from conversations with the rest of the group.

After their second weekend in town, Allison convinced Lydia to join the gym she worked on as a receptionist. That way they could spend a little more time together, and after Allison's shift they could both attend Braeden's yoga class before picking up the kids from school. The first day she went to class with Allison, however, Lydia noticed Stiles was there too. They just made small talk before the class began and after it ended, when he left them to head to the men's room, Lydia had to ask.

"I didn't know Stiles was into yoga…" She had seen him struggle a little, but the boy was determined to not let that disturb him.

"Were you checking him out? I saw you…"

"Ally!" Lydia sometimes had to stomp her foot and roll her eyes at Allison. Sure, the girl wasn't purposefully trying to get them together like she promised, but she would make comments once in a while. She still wasn't wrong though. Allison smiled. "I meant it's not very common seeing men practicing yoga…"

"Yeah, right…" She says, amused. "He hmm…" Allison paused, debating in her head whether she should tell her or not. "He was in a car crash a couple years ago. He got injured. It wasn't pretty. He implemented yoga as part of his recovery. Helps with his body and his mind, you know? It's been really good for him."

The more she learned about him, the more attracted she was, even if she couldn't exactly explain why. She hadn't asked him about the accident and he hadn't shared it with her yet, the same way he hadn't brought up her history of abuse, which he heard about one morning when he was having breakfast at Scott and Allison's. There was some channel broadcasting a piece about domestic violence and Allison murmured something about how glad she was that Lydia wasn't together with her ex anymore. Scott had agreed (Allison, of course, had told him about it.). Stiles didn't say anything. He couldn't grasp the idea of someone hurting another person, let alone Lydia, like that. It was repulsive and knowing it happened to her, even if he didn't know yet to what extent, only made him feel more drawn to the strawberry blonde.

Life is weird like that.

xxxxxxxxxx

Almost six weeks after they arrived to Beacon Hills, on a Wednesday afternoon, Lydia was waiting for Ariel to grab her things at the preschool so they could go home when she noticed Stiles and Eric waving at her. She waved back, smiling, as they walked towards her.

"Hey guys."

"Hi, Lydia." Eric liked Lydia a lot. Said she looked like Ariel. The boy gives her an envelope, an excited tone in his voice. "I have something for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"You have to read it."

Lydia smiled. "Of course." She starts opening the envelope, but Stiles closes it, touching her hand slightly.

"Wait," he says smiling and looking down at Eric. "We were supposed to wait for Ariel, remember?" The boy nods.

Lydia looks behind Stiles to see her daughter coming in their direction. "There she is." Lydia kisses her cheek and soon after the girl is at Stiles' side, waiting for a hug. He gets down and embraces her, grinning. "Hey gorgeous, how are you today?"

He always does that. And every time, both Ariel and Lydia blush, smiling shyly like it's the first time they hear his compliment. "I made you a drawing," Ariel blurts out, looking very proud of herself.

"Really?" The girl nods frantically as Stiles blushes a little. "Then I'll have to ask you to do something for me, okay? Lydia, you can read the card now."

Caught off guard looking at him blushing, Lydia drops the envelope to the ground. They laugh nervously trying to relieve some of the tension. He picks it up for her and gives it back. She pulls out the card that's inside and reads it.

"To Ariel and Lydia." She turns the card and reads what's on the back. "You are invited to our birthday party this weekend. There will be cake. Bring presents. Kisses, Eric and Stiles." Lydia laughs.

"I did everything," says Eric, a happy smile on his lips, referring to the decorations on the postcard. "Uncle Stiles just wrote the words."

Stiles chuckles. "Yeah, I wasn't very helpful."

"I didn't realize it was also your birthday." Lydia knew Eric's birthday was soon, but she hadn't heard anyone mentioning about Stiles.

"Eric's birthday is on Saturday, mine's on Sunday. We usually just celebrate together. Guess I forgot to mention it before, sorry." It was true. Sometimes the group would feel like Lydia had always been with them, so they would forget there were things she, of course, wouldn't know. "So, you will come, right?"

"Of course. Count us in." For some reason, Lydia can't stop smiling. It's becoming a habit when she's around him.

Stiles turns to Ariel. "I already know what I want to get. Would you give me your drawing as my present? Would that be okay?"

Ariel looks at Lydia, a little concerned. "We have to wrap it, mommy. Do you know how to wrap drawings?"

Both Lydia and Stiles laugh. "I think I can figure it out, yes."

Ariel turns to Stiles again, looking a little sad. "But you'll know it's a drawing…"

"I won't know what's on it, okay?" He strokes her cheek. "And I know I'll love it anyway. Now I won't leave until I see a smile." The girl's smile breaks free quickly, she can't help it. "There's my girl."

Lydia's heart always falters whenever she listens to Stiles and Ariel talking like that. The way he cares about the girl and the way her daughter trusts him implicitly is something Lydia was not expecting to happen, not after she chose to leave Jackson and raise Ariel on her own. She has to admit she's really glad she did.

"And you, Eric, what you would like for your birthday?" Lydia asks the little boy, but Stiles answers for him.

"Oh, don't get him started. He has a list." Stiles grabs a piece of paper from his pockets that he hands to Lydia. "There."

"I want something about space or dinosaurs or pirates…" Eric starts rambling as she reads, but Stiles stop him.

"Or whatever she feels like giving, right, buddy?"

"Yeah." Eric frowns and Lydia laughs.

"I'll see what I can do, okay?" She messes with his hair, making the boy chuckle. "We'll see you guys tomorrow. Guess we have some shopping to do."

xxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Lydia gets a text.

**Stiles: I forgot to mention it, but the bday party will be at my place and all the grown-ups are supposed to stay up late, at least until midnight, for me, so you might wanna bring Ariel's pjs in case she falls asleep before that**

She bites her lip and texts back.

**Lydia: Sure. You never mentioned what you wanted to get for your birthday, though**

His response is quick.

**Stiles: I don't need anything, really. The party's more about Eric. The others are just staying late for a drink**

**Lydia: It'll still be your birthday. I should get you a present**

This time he takes a little longer to answer.

**Stiles: Then I guess your presence will have to suffice**

Lydia can't help but blush as she texts him one last time.

**Lydia: I look forward to it**

**Author's note: Next chapter will be about the birthday party and Lydia and Stiles will finally get sometime alone (sort of.) As always, please review or leave me a message. I really wanna know what you guys think so far. Ideas are welcome too. Also, please check "Mysterious ways", my other Stydia fic, if you haven't already. I love all of you! I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary: ****Okay, so I meant to update hours ago but I kind of couldn't stop writing, so you just got yourselves an extended chapter! There are still a few things that I wanted to add here, but I'll post them on the next chapter instead. It was getting long and I really wanted to share what I have so far with you guys. Also, thank you for all the reviews. You guys are the best. I love reading every single one of your messages. Now go and enjoy Chapter 6! Happy reading :)**

**Chapter 6**

Everyone gets together that weekend. Natalie comes to Beacon Hills to check on her girls and Chris will be coming home for the first time in weeks for his grandson's birthday. Lydia hasn't seen him since she moved here. He had been nice to her when she met him back when she and Allison were in college. It'll be nice to see him again. It's like everything is falling into place.

They arrive at Stiles' place around four. The others are already there along with some kids from Eric's class and their parents. Stiles is the one opening the front door to mother and daughter, strawberry blond locks falling freely to their waist, matching olive dresses and rosy cheeks as they laugh. Stiles is speechless. He could swear he just died.

"Stiles, are you okay?" Lydia stops laughing, blushing harder. He looks awed. It takes him a few seconds to answer.

"Y- Yeah, sorry. I-…" He kind of forgot how to breathe. "Sorry." He moves to let them in. "You look stunning".

She cracks a smile and, without really thinking about it, she kisses him swiftly on the cheek, locking her eyes on his as she whispers. "Thank you." No one has ever made her feel like this with just words. It's silly. He makes her feel like she's in high school all over again.

The kiss takes him by surprise. They have never kissed before. Overwhelmed, he turns to Ariel. "Hey, gorgeous. You…" He takes her hand and lifts her arm so she can spin, then placing a kiss on her hand. The girl giggles. "_You_ look like a princess."

The girl answers him as forward as she can before running to meet her classmates. "I know."

"Oh my god, she totally got that from you." Stiles turns to Lydia, laughing. "Wasn't your mom coming?"

Natalie also took a liking of Stiles instantly. After first meeting him a few weeks ago, she wouldn't shut up about him either, like Ariel. And Lydia. A little like Lydia too, yes. _A little_. "Yeah, she's in the car. I'm gonna go help her. I just came to bring Ariel inside first, she was in a rush," she chuckles. Placing a not-so-subtle hand on her lower back, Stiles leads Lydia outside and they walk together, meeting Natalie in the driveway.

"Stiles, honey, it's nice to see you again." She hugs him briefly, smiling at Lydia above his shoulder. "So, a little help?"

They walk back to the house with loaded arms. Lydia carries four gift bags and Stiles helps Natalie carrying some desserts and homemade snacks she prepared for dinner, along with one of Ariel's old baby bags with a few things for the girls. They planned on staying late, as Stiles suggested. Inside, they placed the dishes on the counter. There's food all around; every family brought a little something. Lydia turns to Stiles.

"Where should I put the presents?" She raises her arms a little, shaking the bags.

"Over there." He points to a corner. "Eric will open them after dinner, when we cut the cake. You're spoiling him, you know?"

She smiles as they walk over to where the presents are. "Well, they are not all for Eric."

"Oh." He's a little embarrassed. "You didn't have to…"

She catches his hand before it finds its place on the back of his neck. She knows he's nervous and he's not the only one. She hands him two of the gift bags. "These are yours. I don't know if you want to leave them here. Eric might think they're for him too." She smiles shyly, breaking the contact.

"Hmm, yeah. He'd probably want them. I'll take them upstairs?" He didn't mean for it to be a question, but he's avoiding babbling, so _yeah_.

Her eyes look a little alluring when she answers. He could get lost in her eyes in a second. "No peeking."

He crosses his heart, smiling back. "No peeking, promise."

She giggles and turns away, hiding her blush. "I'll go find Eric."

She looks for her mom in the living room, finding her talking to an older man, probably her mother's age. She approaches them, taking a better look at him.

"Lydia Martin, is that you?"

She smiles and hugs him. He still looks just like she remembers him and it's been years. "Mr. Argent, it's good to see you."

"Well, haven't you grown more beautiful. Just like your mother. And please call me Chris, we're old enough now."

"You're not so bad yourself. You've aged nicely," she says laughing, trying to get the man's attention because her mom was blushing. They might have had a thing back in the day, or at least Lydia and Allison suspected as much.

"I might have to see you two more often. There's a little red missing in my life…" He chuckles.

"Oh, just make the plans, Chris. Mom comes to visit every now and then." Natalie elbows Lydia almost insensibly and Lydia turns to her. "Have you found Eric yet?"

Natalie nods, but Chris speaks before she can. "He's in the backyard, playing with the others. And Lydia, your Ariel is beautiful. You did good." He places a hand on her arm, squeezing lightly. She knows Allison told him about Jackson and Ariel when she first mentioned Lydia being in Beacon Hills.

She smiles genuinely. "Thank you. And it's really good seeing you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find the birthday boy. I'll meet you later," she says to her mom, leaving her and Allison's dad by themselves again.

Like Chris said, the kids, Eric and Ariel among them, are playing on Stiles' backyard, fully decorated for the party with colorful balloons and banners everywhere. She gets closer to a very excited young man.

"Eric, honey?"

The boy turns around and makes his way towards her, Ariel following right behind him. "Lydia!"

She hugs him and kisses his hair. "Happy birthday, sweetie."

He cracks a smile. "Thank you." Looking down at one of his hands, he brings it up, spreading his little fingers. "I'm five now."

"I know, you're so big." She messes his hair, he likes it. "Go on and play with your friends." She turns to Ariel. "I'll be inside if you need anything, okay?"

She makes her way back inside but stops by the door. She turns around and leans on the door frame for a minute, her left shoulder touching the wood. Ariel is running around, flushed and smiling and laughing and talking like she's never done before. Not before Beacon Hills. Lydia is getting a little teary as she watches her daughter. She suddenly holds her breath when someone behind her talks.

"What are you doing?"

She doesn't need to turn around to know it's Stiles, but she still does. He's right behind her but not touching her, his left arm supporting him way above her on the door frame. She smiles and bites her lip. It takes every ounce of strength she has to not look down. The way he's stretched right now, she knows she'll find skin showing on his waist where his shirt lifted a little and _god_, she knows she'll stop thinking properly in an instant and _damn, he's close_.

She turns to the yard, hiding behind her hair. "Just watching Ariel." She pauses and they stay in silence for a while, not moving. She's not sure if she wants to make the question or how to put it into words. Ever since they moved, Lydia found herself quite often asking questions she can't find the answer to, and they are not bad questions, just unfamiliar and she's not really sure what to do with them. It's confusing and a little annoying. She glances up at him behind her shoulder. "She's happy, right?"

He looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Ariel. I mean, she was happy before. But moving here was a good thing, right?"

His heart just sunk a little on his chest. He gets a little closer. "Lydia, what are you talking about?" He swallows. "You're not planning on leaving, are you?"

"What?" She looks a little panicked, practically mirroring his expression as she turns around to face him. "No, Stiles, of course not. That's not what I meant. God, no. Trust me, we're not going anywhere."

He lets out a breath. "Okay, good," he whispers. They are too close, he can almost feel her breathing on his skin, but neither moves. Clearing his throat, he continues, his voice low. "Now don't say things like that again. You scared the shit out of me for a second." They chuckle nervously, tension dissipating lightly. "I mean, I don't know what I'd do without her. I can't live without a redhead in my life now…"

He starts mumbling and she laughs. He follows and she purses her lips. Turning around again to see her little girl, she leans on the door frame as before, now touching him, even if just barely. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just… I've never seen her so free, you know? Like it's easy for her. I don't think we've ever been this comfortable around anyone. It's just new, I guess…"

"For what it's worth, I think she's happy, Lyds." He started to use her nickname a few weeks ago. Until then, Allison was the only one calling her that. Now, she wants nothing but to hear him say her name. It's addictive, the way he sounds when he says it. Definitely a turn-on. "Are you?"

She gives him her most honest smile. "Yes, Stiles. Yes, I am."

They head inside and mingle.

xxxxxxxxxx

Allison has been ecstatic all afternoon. She, just like Lydia, found their parents talking, and now she won't stop trying to make plans with Lydia to get them together.

"Ally, I swear. You need to stop playing matchmaker." They are sitting in the kitchen while Allison is feeding Claudia. "I already told your dad to make plans. I'm sure he won't pass it up." Allison laughs. "My mom might kill me, though." Allison stops laughing abruptly. "What?"

Lydia turns around to find her mom standing behind her. "Why would I kill you, Lydia?" She places her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Did you do something?"

She looks up innocently and smiles. "Not yet." Allison starts laughing again.

"Now look at you two, grown women. You should know better." She's trying to play tough but she's smiling too.

Allison answers. "Maybe we do." They all laugh.

"Can we talk about Lydia now? I don't want to embarrass myself any further." Natalie has been dying to talk to someone else about it. And of course she's also changing the subject because she might have been flirting with Chris earlier.

"Oh no, no. No talking about me." Lydia laughs as she gets up from her chair, escaping her mother's grip. "I'll just go do something real quick," she says, starting to move away from the girls.

"What, look for Stiles?"

_Shit_. She stops and turns around. Her mom is grinning and Allison is having a hard time trying not to let Claudia fall from her lap with all the effort it's taking her not to burst out laughing. She walks back to them. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Natalie hasn't played this game with Lydia since she was a teenager. She wants to have her fun. "It's just you and Stiles have been spending a lot of time together…"

"No, we haven't."

"Uh yes, you have," Allison interjects. Lydia raises an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe not a lot, but _some_ time. You know you have, Lydia."

"So what?"

"Can I say something, sweetie? And please don't take it the wrong way?" Lydia just stares at her mom, waiting for her to continue. "Sometimes you two look like a couple."

Lydia is a little surprised. "No, we don't."

"You kind of do, Lyds." The way Allison says it breaks it to Lydia. She's not messing with her. She just made a statement.

Lydia blushes. "We do?"

"Yeah, I mean… I guess you guys don't really notice, but you act like it sometimes. Nothing major, really, but if I didn't know you and saw you together, I'd totally say you were a couple."

Lydia is a little alarmed now. "Really?"

"Honey, it's not a bad thing, okay?" Natalie worries about her daughter sometimes. Sure, Jackson might have ruined her life. But she has Ariel and her family, which just got immensely larger since she moved here. Lydia should be able to move on. "He's a nice guy, right?" She looks at Allison.

"The best. I've been telling her that since her first day here." Allison smiles, grabbing Lydia's hand.

The girls turn to the door abruptly when Stiles enters the room, ceasing the conversation. "Sorry for interrupting. Allison, maybe we should get everyone together for dinner? The kids are getting a little impatient…" he says, his hand scratching the back of his neck. He's been playing with the kids ever since his talk with Lydia.

"Sure. Lyds, can you…"

"Sure." Allison hands Claudia to the strawberry blonde, who sits on her chair again, now with the baby on her lap.

Allison quickly leads Stiles away from the kitchen, leaving Lydia feeding Claudia the rest of her yogurt. Natalie rests a hand on Lydia's cheek.

"It will be fine, honey. Everything is going to be alright."

xxxxxxxxxx

After dinner and singing "Happy Birthday" (which ended with Ariel giving Eric a kiss on the cheek and everyone dying over all the cuteness) and cutting the cake, everyone gathers in the living room for the presents. The boy is delirious. Among other things, Eric got a pirate ship playset from the Hales, a pirate costume from Chris that matches a pirate chest for his toys from John and Melissa, a whistle from Coach (Scott lost a bet to Coach, so that's his fault) and a lacrosse set for kids from Liam and Mason. Isaac, Cora, the twins and Danny got him a 3ft tall inflatable dinosaur for his bedroom and Scott and Allison got him his first bike with training wheels. Stiles promised the boy a tent so they could sleep together when they '_went on adventures'_, so that's what he gave him. Of course with autumn already settled and winter on its way, they would have to camp inside, but still.

The only presents left are Lydia and Ariel's. Lydia hands Eric one bag at a time. He opens the first one eagerly.

"What is it?" He says, finding two flashlights inside. She helps him put on the batteries on and turns one of the flashlights on. The boy giggles loudly.

"See?" She points one of the flashlights to the nearest wall. "They're projectors. Now you can see dinosaurs…" She turns that one off and turns on the second flashlight just after. "… and space anywhere you want." She turns that one off too. "And anytime you click here," she shows him the button, "the image changes." She demonstrates and gives them back to boy, who starts playing with them excited. "But this, this is what you're gonna love." She hands him the second bag and her heart melts when she sees his cute brown eyes widening in realization and looking in awe inside the bag.

"What is it, buddy?" Stiles takes a peek. "No way."

Stiles looks as delirious as his nephew when the boy brings out a box containing a pair of walkie-talkies and starts opening it. Everyone laughs. They know he'll be using them non-stop, he barely shuts up as it is. "That's for your _'adventures'_ with Stiles, Eric." She recalls her conversation with Allison and her mother. Lydia knew about the tent, so she got Eric something she knew he could use to play with his uncle on their sleepovers. It wasn't a big deal, right? "Do you like it?"

The boy just nods. "I don't think he's able to form words right now," Stiles says smiling. "Thanks, Lyds." She bites her lower lip and smiles back.

xxxxxxxxxx

Soon after, everyone leaves except for the pack. Most of the kids are close to passing out, so almost every ten minutes there's a parent heading upstairs to put one of the kids to bed, just until midnight. Stiles, Isaac and Cora have been tiring the last ones in the living room and upstairs Danny and the twins are checking on the ones who are already asleep.

The others adults are in the kitchen cleaning everything up and preparing leftovers to take home when Stiles comes in carrying a sleepy Ariel, her head resting on his shoulder and her arms holding on to him.

"Lyds, I think she's out."

The little girl whines in protest, but she's too fatigued to even open her eyes.

Lydia smiles and gets closer to them. "Hey, come here…" Stiles gives her Ariel and they touch for a second longer than necessary. Lydia has to force herself to break the gaze. She's probably red and everyone is watching. "Mom, can you help me upstairs?"

On Stiles' room, they change Ariel into her pjs and put her to bed next to Charlotte and Eric, who are already out. Lydia can't escape her mom when she comments "So, matching presents, uh?"

xxxxxxxxxx

They share a quick drink with Stiles and then everyone else starts leaving. After midnight, the only ones left at the house are the Argents, the Martins and Stiles. Natalie left with Chris, who offered her a ride, Scott and Allison have been in one of the rooms for a while and Lydia just checked on the kids. Eric and Ariel were completely worn-out, fast asleep on Stiles' bed. She is walking down the stairs when she finds Stiles sitting on the ground. His back is leaning on the couch and Claudia is resting on his chest. _Well, that's a vision_. He looks back at Lydia and laughs, his voice low not to wake up the baby.

"I think you lost 5 inches on the way down."

She sits on the ground beside him, facing opposite, her back leaning on his coffee table as her feet rest on the couch. They are close enough that her right leg will touch his arm if he moves.

Lydia slaps his arm playfully. "Shut up. My feet were killing me." Upstairs, she had taken off her heels and changed to flats. She brought not only Ariel's pjs but clothes for herself, too, just in case. She didn't have it in her heart to wake Ariel up now and honestly she really didn't want to leave. She asked if he would mind if they stayed the night. He, of course, said no. "You know they are probably going at it upstairs, right?"

"Scott and Allison?" He smiles. "Oh, they are."

"And you don't mind?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "It's a little weird, but not really. They are always tired and they work a lot. And this little nugget" he strokes Claudia's cheek "has been giving them some rough nights, sometimes. They just need a little time for themselves. I'm totally okay with babysitting and they are already here. I'm not gonna send them home to have sex and then come back to pick up their kids."

She looks at him with admiration. She has never met anyone quite like him. "You really are a good guy, aren't you?" She's whispering.

His cheeks quickly turn rosy and he looks down at the baby to distract himself. She always knows what to say to make him nervous. "I try to be. I mean, I'm no hero or anything, at all. That spare bedroom is for them, anyways, for when they come over. And they never make a sound, so I just pretend they are not even here." He chuckles, trying to change the subject.

"They really don't, do they?" She noticed. If she hadn't seen their flushed faces when they went upstairs almost running and obviously assumed they were going to have sex, it wouldn't even have crossed her mind.

"Now _that_'s totally weird. I don't know how they do it. I mean, I'm not loud or anything, but it's not normal that two people can be that quiet. I've never heard a moan, can you believe it? Or heard them talk. How even…" He's mumbling again, but she cuts him out.

She blushes when she looks at him. "And swearing. _Oh god_…" She says it with a pleading tone in her voice without meaning to and _that_ certainly makes both of them feel something inside them they haven't felt in a while. "I do like swearing." They both laugh.

Claudia moves a little on his chest and they fall silent. Stiles places his hand on the girl's back and gently rubs up and down, soothing her.

After a while, Lydia speaks again. "How come you're so good with kids?"

"I don't know. We just get along."

"You don't just get along, Stiles. You're a natural, they all love you."

"Hey. Don't you start complimenting me. It might get to my head," he says smiling.

"I mean it. Ariel won't stop talking about you."

"Really?" He looks at Lydia genuinely amazed.

"Yeah. I think she might have a crush on you."

"I'm totally into redheads, but I think she's a little out of my league." He chuckles, edgy again. He gets up and places Claudia on her stroller, taking more time than he actually has to.

"Well, there are more redheads, so I think you'll do fine." Totally not what she wanted to say, but she's very nervous too. They both know there's something here, they just don't really know what to do about it.

His back is still facing her when he speaks again. "Has he asked you out again?"

Lydia is a little surprised he asked. She hadn't noticed he was aware Aiden kept asking her out. "Yes." He has asked her out at least once every week since they met. And he was really forward about it too. The first time he asked her was in her first day with them, at the park, and he just kept trying. He had asked her again right before the cake, just a few hours ago. "He's persistent, to say the least."

He looks at her, glancing over his shoulder. His muscles are tense. "What did you tell him?"

"The same thing I've been telling him since the first time he asked." She gets up and walks towards Stiles, stopping halfway. Here goes nothing. "That I'm new here. That my life is a little more complicated than it seems. And that I have a little girl to think about."

He doesn't move. "Why does he keep pushing it, then?"

"He keeps saying that with my every week being here, there will be a time when I can't use the _'I'm new here'_ card. He somehow finds it justifiable to keep asking even when I keep saying no."

His head falls to his chest and his voice his low, but he laughs softly. "See? I'm already two redheads short.".

She gets closer to him. "Stiles, that's _his_ answer."

That gets his attention. He slowly turns around. "What?"

"That's what I told _him_."

"And it doesn't make it any less true." _What is she saying?_ "I mean, you've only been here for what? Almost two months now, right? And you do have Ariel…"

"Stiles…"

"… and she's still so young. And about your past, it's totally okay that we haven't talked about it yet. It's not like I'm eager to talk about mine either, so…"

"Stiles!"

"What?"

"Ask me."

He looks baffled. "A- Ask you what?"

Another step closer. "Ask me out."

"Lydia…"

"Stiles, just do it."

Unable to do anything else, he scratches his neck. His skin is tingling everywhere. "Are you… Are you giving me permission to ask you out?"

She takes the last step and chuckles. "Yes, Stiles." It terrifies her as much as it terrifies him.

"But you do have Ariel, and maybe you really haven't been here long enough…"

"Stiles…" She finds his hands and brings them to hers, and just stares as their fingers begin to move, getting to know every bit of skin.

The only two other times he has felt so nervous are buried in his past, in moments he doesn't want to relive and, yet, here he is again, almost fighting back a panic attack. Still, her touch somehow soothes his nerves and he finds enough strength to whisper. "Lyds, would you like to go out with me?"

She nods and lets her eyes meet his. "Yes. Yes, I would." On her tiptoes, she plants a kiss on his cheek. "Happy birthday, Stiles."

**Author's note: I swear I keep falling in love with this fic. Next chapter will continue the night and the day after. As always, please review or leave me a message. I really wanna know what you guys think so far, and ideas are welcome too. Anything, really, I just want to hear from you guys.**

**Also, please check out "Mysterious ways", my other Stydia fic, if you haven't already. I love all of you! I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a week, but I've been having a hard time at work. Also, this is the longest chapter so far. Thank you for all of your comments. Happy Holidays, everyone! :)**

**Chapter 7**

Stiles smiles softly as he looks down at his hands, still in hers. His heart is racing and his mind is unstoppable. He focuses on his breathing hoping to keep it steady, knowing she's looking at him, studying him. He lets out a sigh. "So, a date, uh?" She nods, smiling. He chuckles. "I might need to loosen up a bit for this if we're gonna talk about things… Wanna open one of Coach's bottles?" Coach gave him two bottles of some very fine (according to him) wine for Stiles' birthday. Stiles raises an eyebrow, smiling back.

"Sure." She grabs one of his hands. "Come on."

They glance at Claudia, asleep in her stroller, as Lydia leads them to the kitchen. While Stiles opens one of the bottles, Lydia finds two wine glasses.

"Chocolate?" She says, waving a big dark chocolate bar that was on the kitchen table, a treat from Carter to Stiles.

"Chocolate with wine?" He looks at her in disbelief.

"You've never tried it?" He shakes his head and they both laugh. "You'll see. It's so good…"

They stop abruptly, Allison's voice coming from the kitchen door. "What are you two laughing about?"

Even though they stopped laughing, they are still smiling. "Just gathering some snacks," Lydia says, waving the chocolate bar again.

Allison suppresses a laugh. "It's one in the morning."

Stiles glances at Lydia and smiles, unable to hide it. "We're not tired yet."

"Okay…" Allison drags the word but doesn't press the matter. "Stiles, would you mind if we stayed? I know it's late, sorry…"

"Of course. Claudia fell asleep like twenty minutes ago."

Allison walks towards them and hugs him. "Ugh, I love you. I'll take her upstairs."

Lydia smiles. Her heart warms a little more every time she sees this devotion, affection. She just can't get enough of how much all the family members love and trust each other. "Did you check on the kids on your way down?"

"Yes. Totally out." Allison moves from Stiles to Lydia, hugging her too and then backing away. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

After she leaves and they head back to the living room, Lydia goes sit on the same spot on the floor as before and Stiles dims down the lights, then making his way in her direction.

Lydia laughs, a smirk spreading across her features. "Setting the mood?"

Stiles stops walking and starts babbling. "W-What? No! I mean, it's late so I figured… I wasn't implying anything, I swear. Do you want me to…"

"Stiles," she pats the floor beside her and he sits in the same position as before, facing her, definitely closer now, one's leg touching the other's arm. "I was joking." She bites her lower lip and continues speaking, her tone a little lower now. "You're nervous and I'm nervous, okay? So," she hands him one of the glasses, "let's just leave it aside alright?"

He smiles and they taste the wine, taking their time to let the flavor sink in. It's warm and fruity, not too strong.

"Shit, this is delicious," Lydia lets out while breaking the chocolate bar into little pieces, giving a few to Stiles. She doesn't even give him time to say anything before she eats a piece of chocolate and sips her wine again. He's watching her amused as she savors intently, her eyes closed. She actually moans. "Oh god, this is so good…"

He almost spits his wine. "Fuck, Lyds!" She starts laughing and he shushes her, not able to stop the smile forming on his lips. "I can leave you alone with the wine, if you want," he says, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

She slaps his arm and gives him a glare, not holding the face she's pulling for long. She can't seem to stop smiling. "Shut up."

He looks at her for a moment, his fingers fidgeting on the glass. "You look beautiful when you smile, did you know?" She stops and stares at him meticulously, reading him, even blushing a little at his words. "I mean, you're always beautiful but there's just something when you smile… I don't know, I think it's your eyes. It's like they lit up. It makes you look younger, even, more carefree. It's gorgeous. You're gorgeous." He lets it out like a confession, his cheeks burning when he stops talking, not that he cares. Her lips draw a small smile.

They stay in silence for a little while, just eating and drinking, occasionally looking at the other. They only pour a little more wine on their glasses, choosing to leave half the bottle for later. When they finish, they put their glasses on his coffee table and they adjust on their spot, sitting more comfortably, now further relaxed.

"Thank you," she says, biting her lip slightly and reaching for his hand, "for the compliment. I don't think anyone has ever said such nice things and actually meant it. Not like you, anyway."

He is a little surprised. He assumed Lydia being Lydia, she'd be complimented all the time. _She's a freaking goddess walking on Earth_. That's actually one of the things that make him nervous about her. She's way out of his league and yet here she is, a girl who came into his life leaving him breathless and taking a place inside his heart so easily it terrified him. "If no other guy ever told you that, then they're dicks." He laces their fingers together and looks down at their hands, mesmerized. He glances up at her to find Lydia doing the same thing. "You, Lydia Martin, are amazing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And if I'm the one who gets to tell you that, then I'm glad."

He smiles shyly and she smiles back, her eyes speaking for her, shining. He cracks a smile. "Can I ask you something?" He nods. "Why haven't you asked me out before? I mean, there's something here, right?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, I guess so. I- Hm, I don't know. I meant it before. It's not so much like you haven't been here long. I'm okay with that as long as you don't go anywhere." He smiles and she squeezes his hand softly, enticing him to keep going. "What about Ariel? I know she hasn't met her dad, I wouldn't want to confuse her or make things harder for her, you know…"

"We'll take it slow. We don't have to go on a date right away. We can spend some more time together first, just the two of us. Ariel idolizes you. And it is a little scary how much she depends on you sometimes or on anyone else really, but I think that's a good thing. She's so much better since we moved here…"

"Not just her. Eric too, he was always so shy. Now they are so open and honest and happy… We should be kids, it'd be so much easier." They laugh and he takes a moment before continuing. "I love her. Ariel. It just works between us; I don't know how to explain it. I just don't want to break her little heart. I'd be devastated."

He said it so honorably that Lydia's heart falters and she wants nothing but to kiss him senseless. Instead, she brings their laced fingers up and kisses the palm of his hand. "I think we can make it work, Stiles. I really do. I might be a little broken and you might be a little broken, but we can do it." She smiles reassuringly.

He kisses her palm too. "Good. Which brings us to reason number three, our infamous past…"

"We can talk about it. We'll have to, eventually, so we might as well do it now, I guess…"

He considers it for a brief moment. She's right, of course. "It's as good a moment as any, so yeah, okay." He sits straighter on his spot and clears his throat. "So you probably heard about the accident, right?"

She nods. "Just bits and pieces. They told me it was a couple years ago and that you got injured and it was bad. No one told much else aside from that."

"It wasn't just bad." He pauses. "Someone died, a friend of mine. Her name was Heather." He gulps and his voice cracks a little. "We'd known each other since we were three; she was one of my best friends. She'd just had this nasty breakup the week before, so I made her get out of the house to get some lunch and she was finally starting to smile again…" Another pause. "When I was driving her home afterwards, we were hit by a truck. Drunk driver. It hit on her side of my Jeep. She never stood a chance, died instantly. I managed to get out with only a few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a small gash on my forehead. She was 24."

He stops talking and a tear rolls down his face. Lydia doesn't know what to say so she moves a little closer and wipes away the tear. "I'm so sorry, Stiles," she whispers.

"It's okay." His smile doesn't reach his eyes. "It was hard, though, in the beginning. I blamed myself, you know. I was the one who convinced her to get out of the house. If I hadn't, maybe she'd still be here… I know it wasn't my fault, I couldn't have known. But it felt like it. I didn't get out of my house for weeks. Everyone was worried about me. Me and Heather were like me and Scott, sort of a package deal." He chuckles softly. "We actually dated for a while when we were 23. We were both single, so we gave it a try. We were great together, but it just wasn't love. I mean, I loved her and she loved me, but it wasn't romance. I haven't been with anyone since. Not for lack of opportunities, I just don't feel like investing in it somehow, not since the accident." He exhales slowly, closing his eyes briefly, another tear escaping. "I lost my mom too. I'm scared of letting someone in only to lose them."

She doesn't notice the tear that escapes her own eye until Stiles wipes it away. He's a good guy, probably the best she has ever met. He shouldn't have to deal with such fucked up things. She just wants his pain to go away. Lydia changes positions and sits beside him, now with her back to the couch as well, leaning on his chest. He lifts his arm and places it around her shoulders and her head falls to his chest, her hand searching for his. She speaks quietly. "I don't know the future and I can't make you promises I don't know if I can keep, but I can tell you that I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay." She looks up at him smiling and he kisses her forehead.

He smiles back. "I just turned 27, it's about time to move on. I don't think me and you can do much about it anyways. I might already be in too deep."

She laughs. "That's a good thing, it makes two of us."

"Good. Unrequited love is a bitch." He's about to start laughing but stops when he realizes what he said. Before he can start babbling again, though, Lydia stops him.

"I got it." She's blushing a little. She knows it was just an expression, but still… She chooses to return to the subject. "Claudia was your mother's name, right?" He nods. "Why did Scott and Allison named their daughter after her? I mean, I'm assuming that's what they did. Claudia is not a common name…"

"You really don't know what you got yourself into here." He chuckles. "Our family. We are all a little dysfunctional."

"I've been handling it fine so far, Stiles. I don't think that's a problem."

"Hm yeah, Claudia was named after my mom. She passed away when I was eleven. A robbery gone wrong. Scott blamed himself for that one."

"How come?"

"I was sick when it happened. Some weird flu was going around town and a few other kids were sick too. I stayed home for a few days with my mom; she got a few days off from work to stay with me. Then Scott got it too. Melissa was already raising Scott by herself by then and she couldn't leave her job to stay with him, so my mom took care of us both while Melissa was working. Then one day I was just really tired and couldn't even get out of the bed but Scott kept vomiting, so my mom had to run to the ER with him while I stayed home asleep. After they left the hospital, she went to a drugstore to get his prescriptions and that's when it happened. Gunshot to the chest. Scott was in the car. By the time the EMT's arrived, there was nothing they could do. They were the ones to find him. He was in shock curled up on his seat, couldn't say a word. I woke up that afternoon to my dad coming home looking frantically for me. It was terrifying." He takes a moment to slow his breathing. "Scott didn't talk to me for a long time. He felt like he took something from me, like it was his fault she went there. We only reconnected a few years later. I had to make him promise he wouldn't leave me again."

"And he didn't."

"And he didn't. When he found out Allison was pregnant for the first time, we promised each other our firstborns, like as godsons, you know. He really wanted the baby to be a girl, but that only happened the second time around so I'm her godfather too. When he learned it was a girl, he asked my permission to name her Claudia. I always thought I'd name one of my daughters after my mom, but Scott needed that. It was his own way to redeem himself, I think. I talked to my dad and we agreed to let him. Scott's my brother, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him."

_Could you just get any more perfect?_ Lydia bites her lip. "Wait. _One_ of your daughters?" She laughs. "How many kids do you want to have?"

"A whole team." He laughs when he sees her surprised face. "What? I might be 27 and single, but I'm not celibate. I mean, lately yes, I guess, but I still have time. It's not such a longshot. Just imagine, lots of little Stiles running around…."

The way his chest rises and falls as he laughs beneath her feels so good she doesn't want to move, ever. She laughs too. "God, I can barely handle you."

"What about you? Did you just want Ariel or do you want more kids?"

"I haven't given it much thought. Ariel wasn't planned and with the whole Jackson thing, at least with him I certainly did not expect a child. And I haven't been with anyone since so I haven't really thought about it. But I'd like to have more kids, yes, with the right person." They are both blushing when they look at each other smiling. She has to break the gaze. "All this babies you guys have around here are calling my name and Ariel keeps telling me babies are cute. I might be a little freaked out, if I'm being honest." She laughs nervously. "But I wouldn't trade any of this. The way you all made us feel like we belonged here all along it's ineffable."

"I guess Allison was right. You are family," he says, playing with her hair.

"Don't let her hear you say that."

"I'm actually a little surprised she didn't say anything earlier when she found us in the kitchen. She's been trying to set me up with you since day one."

"I know, right? I hate that she's always right about this things." Lydia is starting to think his laugh is one of the most appealing sounds she has ever heard.

"I'm glad she was right, though, whatever this is."

Lydia smiles and squeezes his hand. "I guess there's only Jackson left to talk about…" He nods, listening attentively. "I met Allison on my first year of college and Jackson on the beginning of my second year. We went out one night and suddenly I was his girlfriend. Things were rushed with us ever since the beginning. I guess at first I thought I liked him and he liked me back, but it didn't take long to see him for what he really was. Allison warned me about him, but I wouldn't listen. Things got out of control soon enough. He yelled all the time and things started to get violent. He'd just pick something up and throw it or smash it against a wall or to the ground and then he'd say he was sorry. It was impossible to keep up to his moods, let alone say anything back; it'd just make it worse." Lydia starts whispering. "The day I answered one of his attacks was when…"

Stiles strokes her cheek softly. "…was when he hit you." His voice comes out unsteady, his breathing hurried. She gulps embarrassed and lowers her head, but he brings her chin up and meets her gaze. "Nothing to be ashamed of. No one knows what you went through but you."

The more he talks, the more she wants to kiss him. The way he speaks to her it's disconcerting. She nods. "First it was a slap, but then he'd push me or hit me with something. Eventually he found out my parents were struggling financially and started threatening me and them too. I didn't know what to do and I wouldn't listen to Allison. I was scared out of my mind. After she left he forced me to marry him and then he left me. Sent me the divorce papers to sign over the mail. I never found out why he wanted to marry me in the first place, but he probably left me for somebody else. I knew he cheated on me, but I never had the strength to say anything. I couldn't bring myself to act. Then I found out about Ariel and tried to do what I thought was the right thing. A father should know about her daughter. He trashed the place when I told him and I left, went to live with my mom. I never saw him again. I don't even know what I was thinking. It scares the shit out of me knowing he could have said he would stay for Ariel. What would I have done then?"

Stiles notices she looks a little panicked, comprehensibly, so he hugs her tight. They don't move for a while until Stiles speaks again, his voice weak. "How bad was it?"

Lydia bites her lower lip, holding her breath. She lets go of him and starts standing up.

"Shit. Lydia, I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's okay…"

She extends her hand to him. She could tell him or she could show him. "Get up. I have to show you something."

Confused, he reluctantly takes her hand and follows her to the bathroom. Once inside, she locks the door behind them and goes stand in front of the mirror facing it, her back to Stiles. She moves her hair to the side as Stiles walks towards her.

"I'm serious, Lydia, you don't have to…"

"Stiles, it's okay." She looks at him through the mirror, her tone serious. She only ever showed them to her mom. "Can you unzip it, please?"

He returns the gaze and doesn't move until she nods, making sure this is what she wants. He unzips her dress all the way from her neck to her lower back and she slips out of it. She studies his expression through the mirror as he watches her body and that's when she knows he's actually perfect. Lydia Martin is standing in front of him only in her underwear and he chooses to come closer and outline her scars with his fingers, brushing them kindly, the ones in sight, at least. They are just a shade lighter than her skin tone and most of them are thin, yet they seem like they're glowing, drawing his attention to them.

"This one was from when he shoved me against a shelf." She points to the one he's currently paying attention to, on the back of her right shoulder. "I hit the edge. I'm just glad it wasn't my neck." He can't form words. "And this one," she points to a little mark behind her right ear, one that Stiles missed, "was from when he had a piece of broken glass on his hand. That happened often. That's how I got most of them."

She keeps guiding him through them. The one on her stomach and the one on her left knee and the biggest one on her left flank. That one had required her to stay in the hospital for two days. He looks back at her blankly, speechless. She can barely talk with him looking at her like that, like he's broken, damaged. "There are a few more, smaller ones, but I'm not gonna fully undress for you, not today." She tries to lighten the mood but she knows she said the wrong thing when he looks even more concerned, as if that's possible.

"Lydia, did he-" Stiles barely as the strength to let out the words, his hands shaking has he hands Lydia her dress back. "Did he ever force you to-"

She grabs the dress and lowers her head, trying to distract herself by dressing up again. She shakes her head slowly, still not looking at Stiles. "No, not force me. But I know there were times he probably wouldn't take _'no'_ for an answer, even if that's what I wanted to say, so I complied. It hurt less when I didn't fight him back…" Her voice breaks at the end and she makes herself look at Stiles. He's crying silently and she can't bear it. She starts crying too.

He tries his best not to let it get to him, rage building up inside him. But Lydia grounds him, throwing her arms around his waist and crying into his chest. He holds her as close as he can. She can barely hear his murmurs. "You're safe now," he whispers. She holds onto him so fiercely she's afraid she might be hurting him. "I won't let anything happen to you. Both of you. None of us will."

They don't move again until their skin is stained with dry tears and they feel like they can breathe again. She only lets go of him for long enough for him to zip her dress up again and lead her to the living room. They lie down on the couch and curl up to one another, tired, unable to speak anymore.

They kiss briefly before falling asleep.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Lydia…"

Lydia tries to open her eyes, but she's too comfortable, so she doesn't make much of an effort. Her body starts shaking, someone obviously trying to wake her up.

"Lydia, come on. Ariel's up."

There's reality for you. Lydia's head hurts a bit and she feels a little tired, but she opens her eyes and sits up. Allison is behind the couch and was gently stroking her arm, whispering.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Ariel and Eric are up. Maybe you should go upstairs and check on her…" she says, smiling.

Lydia looks at Stiles, fast asleep beside her. She nods at Allison and tries to get up from the couch as graciously as she can without waking him up. "What time is it?"

"A little past seven. Scott is upstairs with them." Allison notices the redhead looks worn-out, maybe even a little sad. She wraps her arm around Lydia as soon as the girl is at her side. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." She purses her lips and glances over at the couch, then back at Allison. "We're okay."

Allison smiles and leads her upstairs.

xxxxxxxxxx

Almost half an hour later, everyone has changed clothes and beds are already made, rooms tidied. Already downstairs, the kids sprint to the couch and start jumping on top of it, giggling, waking up Stiles.

"What's this?" he screams. "I'm being attacked." He's laughing and gets up, starting to chase them through the living room. When he catches them, he gets down on his knees and tickles them until they are almost out of breath. The grown-ups are just watching the scene unfold in the back.

"Happy birthday, uncle Stiles." He hugs his nephew and they do their handshake, as usual.

Ariel steals a kiss on his cheek before he has even turned to her. "Happy birthday, Stiles," she says grinning.

He kisses her forehead. "Good morning to you too," he answers, smiling.

"I want a kiss too," says Allison, holding Claudia and speaking for the baby.

"I'm the birthday boy, everyone gets a kiss. Give her to me," he says gesturing towards Claudia and kissing Eric's hair as he gets up from the ground. When he's holding her, he kisses her cheek and starts babbling to her, walking around the room.

"You guys wanna see some cartoons before breakfast?" Scott asks, picking up the remote and turning on the TV. The kids sit on the couch and Scott pats Stiles on the back, making his way to the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To make breakfast. What do you think?"

"Scott, everyone gets a kiss. Come here, buddy." Allison and Lydia start laughing when Stiles starts walking towards Scott and he backs away, laughing too, much to the others entertainment.

"Stiles, you're not kissing me."

"Stop whining, Scott. You're such a baby. Claudia didn't seem to mind," he says. He manages to corner Scott, who gives in. Stiles kisses his hair like he did with Eric. "There. Now you can go and make me breakfast."

"Stop enjoying this so much!" He elbows Stiles in the ribs, not too hard. Stiles breaks out laughing when Scott almost runs to the kitchen and turns to Allison. "God, he's such a dork."

"I know, I married him," she says, hugging him by the waist. He kisses her too. "I'm gonna help him in the kitchen. Why don't you go change so we can all eat together?"

"Sure. Just give me five minutes, okay?" She nods and takes Claudia with her as she leaves.

He turns to Lydia and gets closer, whispering so the kids can't hear them. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Did you sleep okay?"

She nods. "I did, yes. You?"

"Yeah. I just wish we could have slept a little longer," he says, a small smile escaping his lips.

She places one of her hands over his heart. "We're okay, right?" He nods, one of his hands finding her waist. "So hm… Are we still on? Do you still want to…"

He cuts her off by placing a kiss on her forehead that lasts longer than was certainly necessary. "Yes, I do."

Her smile breaks through and so does his. "Well, go on then. We'll wait for you in the kitchen," she says, patting his chest.

He nods smiling and starts moving upstairs.

xxxxxxxxx

After breakfast they clean up the kitchen and gather on the living room to give Stiles his presents before they can all go home. As the kids were already asleep at midnight they couldn't give him their presents, so the parents didn't either. Scott and Allison bought him a Star Wars limited edition box set and he almost choked just looking at it. Stiles was obsessed with Star Wars. Eric, always so subtle, gave him a pirate themed sleeping bag matching his own for when they go camping.

Stiles sat on one end of the couch with Ariel by his side. Lydia was standing beside him and gave him the bags he had taken upstairs the day before, placing her hand on his shoulder. When he opens the first one, he finds the drawing Ariel made him. It seems to be their clearing, two figures sitting on the ground. One is obviously Ariel and the other is Stiles, a book drawn beside him.

"This is you and this is me," she points out, looking very proud. "I like when you read me stories."

Ariel looks up at him like she means the world and he gets a little teary. He hugs her and kisses her hair, while Lydia squeezes his shoulder. Then he moves on to the second gift bag but Lydia stops him. "There's another present from Ariel," she says, grabbing it from inside the first bag. "She was a little distressed that you knew you were getting a drawing, so she arranged something else." He rips the gift wrap to find a frame with a picture of Ariel. "We took that picture on her first day of school for my mom. Ariel wanted you to have it too."

He looks at Ariel and the girl nods happily. He can't help but smile. "Thank you."

The girl giggles. "Now mommy's present."

He chuckles and gets to it. After unwrapping it, he finds a wooden box and looks expectantly to Lydia before opening. "It's a wood carving tool set." He opens the box carefully. "30 pieces, different sizes. I know your tools are a little outworn and you're always saying you need some new ones. You can even carve the lid. Scott helped me pick it."

He's grinning when he looks up at her, placing his hand over hers. "Thanks, Lyds."

xxxxxxxxxx

They do like they planned. They take it easy. They meet for coffee whenever it's Stiles' turn to take Eric to preschool, usually at Derek's coffee shop. Lydia will stay in there pretty much all day working on her laptop, occasionally taking a break to catch up with Derek, or Cora and Isaac when they have the time. Sometimes she'll meet Stiles at the shop when he's working, just staying there talking to him, watching him. On the weekends they meet at Scott and Allison's and just spend time together with them and the kids.

Everyone in the pack knows something is different, but no one says anything. Stiles and Lydia don't seem to mind much anyway. They haven't kissed again since that night aside from the occasional kiss on the cheek or forehead. Touching, however, has been constant. More when they are alone; it's like their hands are linked together. If they are with someone else, their hands will still brush, or they'll be always close to the other, sometimes an arm around the other's waist when it's not too suspicious. It's been a little stressful and pleasing at the same time, tension building up every time they meet, their touch always craving more. But they don't want to ruin it, so they take it slow; until Lydia can't take it anymore.

Roughly four weeks after Stiles' birthday, on a Friday night, everyone is together again for Cora's birthday. After some exciting news by the end of the evening from the birthday girl, who just found out she's pregnant and now has to rush her wedding if she still wants to find a dress, everyone is ecstatic. Until they hear someone crying, that is.

Ariel and Chloe, who Stiles has been playing chase with for almost ten minutes, bumped into each other and fell. You know kids, they'll cry like their lungs out even if it's nothing. Cora gets Chloe and Stiles gets Ariel, sitting the girls on their laps so they can see their bruises. Their knees are a little scratched but nothing much. Most of the grown-ups leave the room so the girls won't cry louder with all those eyes on them. While Melissa looks for a first aid kit just to clean their knees and put a band aid on it, Lydia gets closer to Stiles and Ariel.

"I'm so sorry. It was my fault. I was the one running after them…" Stiles keeps apologizing to both Lydia and Derek, looking truthfully upset that the kids got hurt because of him. They keep telling him it's not his fault, that these things happen, that it's okay.

Eventually her daughter stopped crying and is now sobbing quietly against his chest while he whispers things in her ear Lydia can't understand while she gently brushes the girl's hair out of her face. The girl nods along to Stiles' murmurs and doesn't let go of his hand when Melissa takes care of her knees. When she's done, smiling at the little redhead, Stiles kisses her forehead. "All better?" Ariel nods and they stay sitting like that talking for a little while.

Lydia wasn't aware she was crying behind them until Melissa walked up to her and wiped away her fugue tears, leading her to a corner of the room, away from the others before anyone else could see.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"I-" She's not even sure. "I don't know. I was just…" She exhales deeply. "I was just watching them really." She motions to Stiles and Ariel. "I didn't even notice I was crying…"

Melissa smiles and strokes her cheek. "You and Stiles, whatever it is you got going on, maybe it's time to stop holding back and go for it."

Lydia pauses before asking. "How did you know?" she whispers.

"I'm a mother. And I've been putting up with Scott and Stiles for long enough to know when there's something they're not telling me," she chuckles. "My mom used to tell me something when I was a teenager. _'Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you do know better, do better.'_ You've been doing your best for your little girl for a while now, Lydia. Do you know better?"

She nods. "I do."

"Then do better." She gives her a reassuring smile like only Melissa can. "Why don't we give you two the room for a minute?"

Lydia nods again and smiles back. As they walk back to the others, Melissa suggests the kids go grab their things before leaving, Derek taking Chloe, Melissa taking Ariel and Cora with her by the hand, already discussing wedding plans and shutting the door behind her.

Stiles is pacing around the kitchen when he talks again, eyeing Lydia as she walks towards him. He noticed she looked a little bothered while talking to Melissa. Of course he noticed. "Lydia, are you ok-"

He doesn't have a chance to say anything else, though. Lydia gets on her tiptoes and her lips press against his with no hesitation, her fingers lacing on the back of his neck pulling him down. Although surprised, he reacts instantly, their lips moving softly and slowly together, his hands resting on her waist, pulling her closer. She pulls on his bottom lip before breaking the kiss, already smiling.

Their breathing is a little frantic and Stiles struggles a little to let the words out. "What was that for?"

She catches her breath. "I think it's time, Stiles." Letting their foreheads meet, her lips are brushing his as she talks again, smiling wide. "You can take me on a date now."

**Author's note: We're getting there! Please review or leave me a message with your take on the story so far. Feel free to vent at me and tell me anything, really. Also, please check out "Mysterious ways", my other Stydia fic, if you haven't already. I love all of you! I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary: ****I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but my job is very emotionally demanding and, therefore, I am often lacking will or inspiration to write. Thank you all for reviews, I love you guys :)**

**Chapter 8**

When Lydia wakes up at 8am the next morning, she has to admit that she hasn't felt this genuinely happy in years. She feels good, _hell_ she feels like dancing. Or singing. Maybe both. Lydia is definitely excited. Not wanting to wait anymore, Lydia and Stiles agreed to go on a date the next day, on Saturday night, this very evening.

In her kitchen, she turns on the radio and starts gathering the ingredients to make some pancakes for breakfast, hips moving to the beat of the song. Not 5 minutes later, Lydia hears her front door unlock and she grins because she knows it's her mom. Natalie had arrived the day before for Cora's birthday and was spending the weekend with the girls, only last night she didn't come home at all. Natalie finds herself blushing when she notices she just got caught and, seeing there's no way around that, she joins Lydia in the kitchen.

"Your granddaughter could be up by now, you know?" Lydia asks, bantering.

"Don't make this worse, please. I was hoping you'd sleep in…"

Lydia smiles. "How did it go with Chris?"

"Faultless, of course. I still know how to play…"

Lydia laughs. "Oh god, no details. I really don't need to know."

Natalie narrows her eyes at her daughter but smiles back. She starts helping Lydia with breakfast. "How was the rest of the party?"

"Hm about that… Do you have plans for tonight?"

"I don't think so, no. Why?"

Lydia purses her lips together and tilts her head down, blushing slightly. "Stiles and I are going on a date. We were hoping you'd watch Ariel tonight, if you don't mind…." She risks a glance at Natalie and smiles bright; her mom had just made her way around the island to hug her.

"Oh honey, of course," Natalie whispers, kissing Lydia's hair as she hugs her tight. The air around them becomes electric, both of them suddenly enthusiastic. Natalie grabs her daughter's hands, making Lydia face her completely. "So, where's he taking you?"

Lydia bites her lip. "It's a surprise, he won't tell me." She had asked, several times, but Stiles was adamant. Lydia lets out a chuckle and looks nervously at her mom, not hiding a smile. "We're doing this, mom." Natalie can't help but kiss her girl on the cheek and smile.

They are almost finished with getting breakfast ready when Lydia's cellphone rings. Because Lydia is at the stove, Natalie picks up the phone to find Stiles is the one calling. Smiling, she takes the call in the living room. "Good morning, Stiles."

Lydia turns around instantly at the mention of his name, trying to listen in on the conversation but she gets nothing, only her mother's cryptic facial expressions as she talks to the man. Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, Natalie hands the phone to Lydia with a smirk.

"Hey."

"Hey, Lyds."

Lydia is not sure which of them sounded more endearing. "Is there a reason for you to be calling so early?"

"I wanted to check on Ariel, see if she's okay. Her knees, you know…"

"Stiles, it was barely a scratch…" She says rolling her eyes, amused.

"I know, but still… And I kind of wanted to make sure we were still on for tonight. Your mom already told me she'll take Ariel."

"Oh we're on. Now can you tell me where you're taking me?"

"I'm not telling you, Lyds. Where would be the fun in that?"

"I need to know what I'm gonna wear, Stiles." She can practically hear him roll his eyes.

"You can go naked for all I care…" Lydia bursts out laughing. "Shit, that's not what I meant. You always look gorgeous no matter what you wear, that's all."

"I think I'd rather wear clothes, Stiles." she says, hiding her blush from her mom who's two feet away from her, grinning. She waves her free hand at Natalie so that she'll go check on Ariel, who should be up by now. When Natalie leaves the kitchen, Lydia turns her attention to Stiles again. "Please, tell me."

"You just can't grasp the concept of a surprise, can you?" He chuckles. "Just put on something nice. Not too fancy, not too casual. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love it."

Lydia bites her lip. "I can't wait for tonight," she whispers.

"I know, me too."

"Can I at least know how long we'll be out?" She tries, unsuccessfully, to hide a smirk.

Stiles does the same. "Don't be eager, Ms. Martin…" They laugh. "Is Ariel up already? I wanna talk to her. Wait, did you tell her yet?"

"No, not yet… I think she's up. My mom went to get her. They should be here in a sec."

"I'll wait… So should I pick you up later or are you picking me up? Because I'm not sure if Ariel should see me, you know, picking you up for…"

"I think it's fine, Stiles, you can pick me up." Lydia is beaming when Natalie and Ariel enter the kitchen. "Oh, here she is."

"Great, pass her the phone."

Lydia doesn't need to tell Ariel anything, the girl is already trying to reach for the phone. Lydia gives it to her and the little girl runs for the couch where she sits talking to Stiles.

Natalie comes near Lydia again. "So?"

A little unsure, Lydia asks her mom. "Do you think it's okay if he picks me up? I mean, Ariel will be okay with it, right?"

"I think so, yes. But what are you gonna tell her? Because there's no way she'll let you guys leave without wanting to tag along…"

"Oh… I haven't thought of that part. What-"

"Mommy." Ariel calls for her at the kitchen's door, phone in hand, interrupting Lydia and making her blush.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Can Stiles come play today?"

"Oh, I don't k-"

"I got it," Natalie assures Lydia, walking up to Ariel and taking the phone from the girl's hand to talk to Stiles again.

Meanwhile, Lydia starts setting up the table and tells Ariel to go wash her hands. When the girl returns, Natalie ends the call and they all sit at the table.

"Is Stiles coming to play?" Ariel asks, thrilled.

Lydia looks expectantly at her mom, as does Ariel. "I invited Stiles to have lunch with us. He'll stay the afternoon," Natalie says, smiling. Ariel claps her hands and starts eating, satisfied with the answer.

Lydia gets closer to her mom and whispers. "But mom, Stiles will have to change before dinner."

"He'll change here, it's fine. We got it all worked out. This way he can play with Ariel, we can all have a good time and, because she'll have her time with him in the afternoon, she will probably be more inclined to forgive you for spending the night away with him."

Lydia blushes and just nods. She can't help the nerves that start crawling at her skin.

xxxxxxxxxx

Stiles arrives at noon. Lydia opens the door for him and, once he's inside, she gets on her tiptoes to kiss him but he stops her.

She giggles. "What?"

Stiles is blushing. "Ariel?"

"She went for a walk with my mom. They should be back soon." She steals a swift kiss and smiles. "Mind helping me with lunch?"

He lowers his head so that his forehead is touching hers and just stares. "God, you're beautiful," he breaths out before kissing her.

That is something she will never get tired of listening. It's a quick, sweet kiss. "You're beautiful."

He chuckles and she steals another kiss. He smiles. "Where can I put this?" he asks, waving the hanger he has in one of his hands, his outfit for the evening hiding inside a black cover bag.

"Just put it on my bed."

He nods. "I'll be right back. And no peeking at my outfit, Ms. Martin."

She grins. "I'll try my best."

When he gets back, Lydia's by the kitchen island. "So, what are we having for lunch? What can I do?" he asks, coming behind her to see what she's doing.

"Chicken nuggets. Ariel won't shut up about it."

"Really?" Stiles is so happy he looks like a kid. "I haven't had chicken nuggets in ages… And it's probably my fault. Ariel talking about it, I mean…" He looks at her apologetically. "She asked me what was my favorite food a few days ago and I told her chicken nuggets and she told me she likes it too. We kind of have an inside joke about it, so yeah, sorry…."

Lydia snorts. She knows it's his favorite. "Stiles, you had chicken nuggets like two weeks ago…"

"Exactly, ages ago." He chuckles. "What did I just say?"

She elbows him, laughing too. "Would you please stir the soup?"

When Natalie and Ariel arrive a few minutes after, Stiles and Lydia are sipping on some wine while they take care of the cooking. The girl runs to Stiles as soon as she lays eyes on him.

He hugs her. "Hey, munchkin."

"Nana says we can watch Frozen," the girl states happily.

"Only if we're singing," replies Stiles.

Lydia rolls her eyes. "Really, mom?" _Again?_, she mouths.

Natalie just shrugs her shoulders and mouths _Sorry_ back, already walking towards Stiles to greet him. She hugs him tight like she did with Lydia before.

Stiles is blushing a little. "Hey, Natalie."

"I'm so glad you're here, sweetie."

Stiles bites his lower lip and looks at Lydia, a small smile on his lips, then turning to Natalie again. "Yeah, me too."

xxxxxxxxxx

The afternoon is somewhat perfect, Lydia thinks. After lunch, they all sit in the living room to watch the damn movie, which turns into a singing contest because Ariel wants to be better than Stiles at singing and she really isn't, so she wants to do it over and over again. Natalie sits on one of Lydia's armchairs eyeing the others, Ariel on the couch between Stiles and Lydia. When the movie ends, the girl chooses another one, Tinker Bell this time, and at some point of the movie she asks if Stiles can stay for dinner. All three adults look at each other anxious.

"Hm honey," Lydia says, "Stiles can't tonight. He hm…"

"I'm taking your mom out tonight," he says, matter-of-factly.

Lydia blushes a little but goes with it. "Yes, and you'll be staying with Nana."

Natalie tries to help, smiling at the girl. "You will help me cook dinner tonight, Ariel. How does that sound?"

The girl looks a little sad. "I want to go out too."

"We can go to the mall if you want," Natalie offers.

"No. I want Stiles," Ariel says, frowning, lowering her head.

Stiles laughs. "Look at me." Ariel turns her face away from him but he tickles her and it's not long until the girl is facing him trying not to laugh. "Hey, remember I took you out last weekend and we went to the fair?" Lydia had to go to her office last Saturday, so Stiles stayed with Ariel. The girl nods, still avoiding eye contact. "Well today is your mamma's turn to have fun."

"Why can't I go?" Ariel crosses her arms at her chest and the others try hard not to laugh.

"Because we're gonna do grown-up's stuff." Stiles shuts up immediately and blushes hard. Lydia and Natalie start laughing. "I mean, uh…"

"Well, Stiles is right," Lydia says. "There are some things a young girl like you can't do." She can't think of anything better, really. Lydia is panicking a little. "You'll have fun with Nana." She smiles encouragingly but she knows it's not over yet; Ariel is just like her.

The girl takes a few seconds to think. Finally looking at Stiles, she grins. "Then you owe me."

"Oh, okay." He looks at her deviously, amused. "What do you want, you little terror?"

Ariel gets on her knees on the couch and whispers something at his ear. Stiles' eyes widen and, smiling back at the girl, he nods and the girl giggles. Lydia and Natalie look at each other suspicious and then at Stiles, but he doesn't say anything.

xxxxxxxxxx

In the meantime, Lydia got a call from Allison telling her she and Scott would also be going on a date that night (Lydia had called Allison in the morning to tell her the news), so she wanted to know if Natalie would take care of the kids, which turned into a sort of triple date when Chris offered to help Natalie out.

By the time the second movie ends, Scott and Allison are already at Lydia's apartment to leave Eric and Claudia; they were going to drive out of town, so they would have to leave soon. They don't take long, just enough to say goodbye to the kids and wish good luck to Stiles and Lydia. Chris arrives half an hour later and takes Natalie and the kids to the park just outside Lydia's building so they can play a little before dinner, leaving her and Stiles alone so they can get ready.

While he changes in the bathroom, Lydia puts on her dress. It's a dark teal, long sleeve, lace dress that ends just above her knees. She complements her look with a pair of heels in nude. As for makeup she keeps it simple; mascara and a shade of light pink lipstick; her purse matches her lips. Loosely braiding a section of her hair on each side of her head, she ties both braids together at the back and curls the end of her hair; she knows Stiles loves her curls. She's pretty much done when he knocks on her bedroom's door.

"Can I come in?"

Getting up from her vanity's chair, she fixes her dress and checks herself in the mirror. "Sure."

He's awestruck when he sees her but he's not the only one. If Lydia knew he'd look that good in formal attire she would have asked him out a long time ago. He's just wearing a white dress shirt that couldn't fit him any better, navy trousers and brown leather shoes. That's it. Oh, that and the smug look on his face to go along with it, of course. That's all he's wearing and her imagination is already running wild.

He wants to compliment her. He really wants to say something but ends up blushing because her gaze hasn't left him for a second since he came into the room. "Lyds, are you okay?"

She licks her lips involuntarily. "Never better," she says with a smirk, making her way towards him. "You look handsome."

"Well, you look perfect."

She gets closer to him and lets her lips meet his and he kisses her back. A few seconds into the kiss, he starts giggling.

Lydia doesn't back away. "What?"

"You know we're doing this the other way around, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Usually when two people go on their first date, they are supposed to kiss _in the end_ and _if_ it goes well. You kissed me yesterday, this morning and just now. I think you're ruining it, Lyds," he says laughing, still holding her close.

"We're not a usual couple, now are we?" she asks, smiling shyly.

He caresses her cheeks and kisses her. "No, no we're not."

xxxxxxxxxx

He parked downtown. Lydia spent the entire trip asking him where they were going to no avail. She figures it could be a lot of places; if she's counting the main street alone, there are at least a dozen different restaurants he could be taking her, some of which she already knows, some more formal than the others.

He takes her by the hand smiling wide, confident with his choice for the evening, technically because it won't be his choice. He stops in the middle of the street and turns to Lydia.

"So, are you telling me where we're going now?" she asks hopeful.

"Actually, you'll tell me. I made 3 reservations. One at that new chic restaurant that just opened because obviously you deserve the best, another at that Italian place I know you like so much and the last one at that restaurant you have lunch sometimes, the one you keep saying feels cozy because it's so small. I wasn't sure which one to pick, so who better than Lydia Martin to know what Lydia Martin wants, right?" He pauses. "We can always go somewhere else if you want, of course." He's pleased when she looks at him astonished.

"You know me better than you think," she says, letting go of his hand to cross her arms behind his neck while Stiles pulls her closer. She kisses him softly and surely takes her time to taste his lips. _God_, she really wants the date to end soon... "Italian?"

He nods and kisses her on the cheek before taking her hand again, calling the other two restaurants to cancel the reservations. Lydia hasn't had this much fun in a really long time and she loves it. They spend the whole time talking and laughing, stealing food from the other's plate. When dessert comes, they share.

They lose track of time. By the time they are supposed to leave for the movies (Stiles heard Lydia say one day she hadn't been to the movies in months), they are late for nearly an hour so they walk back to his car for Stiles' last surprise with him apologizing for making them miss the session time and Lydia laughing at him every time. When they get to the car, Lydia takes the reigns. Placing her purse on top of the vehicle, she gently pushes Stiles against the car. Leaving her hands to rest on his torso, she kisses him enticingly, biting his lower lip softly before breaking the kiss.

Their eyes darken with lust. "What was that for?" Stiles asks, his lips brushing hers.

"To thank you. It was perfect."

He moves quickly to switch places with her, leaving Lydia with her back against the car now. He holds her in her place with a hand on her stomach and she blushes; she feels warmth all over her body coming from his hand. Slipping her fingers slightly under the waistband of his trousers, she pulls Stiles closer and he teases her, letting his head fall to her neck. His breath on her skin makes her shiver. "You know it's not over yet, right?"

"Oh, I know," she says with a smirk.

He laughs. "That's not what I meant." He kisses her neck. "Later, maybe."

She grins and brings one of her hands up to his cheek…

It all happens too fast. One moment she's about to kiss him, the other she's yelling "_Hey_" and the next Stiles is running away from her and after the men that just stole her purse. Lydia is left standing in her spot frozen, terrified, seeing the scene unfold. Stiles catches them in no time; the problem is the men, two guys all dressed in black and wearing masks, are much more built than he is, so when Stiles grabs the guy who has Lydia's purse in hand to try and take it away from him, Stiles gets punched in the stomach, hard, and bends forward in pain, losing his balance. The second man, taking advantage of Stiles' bewilderment, keeps hitting him. Stiles fights back as he can and is successful in some of his punches until one of them hits him in the face and leaves him disoriented.

Lydia starts running in Stiles' direction along with some other people that were on the street and witnessed the same thing she did. One of the robbers kicks Stiles on his side to make sure he stays out of the way as they run and Stiles is left stumbling onto the street, not able to get out of the way of a car that's passing by.

The last thing Stiles hears is Lydia's scream.

**Author's note: I promise it's not too bad, I swear, but Stiles accident will have consequences related to what Ariel asked of him before and it will bring his relationship with Lydia to a different level :) Also, on a side note, Lydia's look is inspired on Holland's look when she attended the "Live in Pink" party in 2012 and Stiles' look on Dylan's at the Giffoni Film Festival last year.**

**As always, review or leave me a message if you'd like. Also, please check my other works if you haven't already. I've been posting Stydia prompts, in case you wanna check them out. I'm you-make-me-wander on tumblr**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Lydia?"

He narrows his eyes at the bright light from the, _what? Is it a ceiling? _He hears something being dragged, a chair, he thinks, and in a second he sees strawberry blonde hovering above him.

"Stiles."

He doesn't answer right away, it's hard to breathe. It feels like he's being stabbed with every breath he takes. He tries to move and reach out for her but he can't. Everything hurts.

"Shh, don't move," she says. "It's okay. You're okay." Her hand strokes his hair softly as she waits for his eyes to adjust to the light. When he does, he smiles and tries to reach for her again, but it hurts. Every single thing hurts. "Stay still for me, okay? I'll just go call the nurse and I'll be right back."

He's at the hospital, he assumes, and vaguely remembers what happened. "No, Lydia…"

"It'll only take a second. Please, don't move," she pleads. His nod is weak. She kisses his forehead and as quickly as she came into his field of view, she's out.

She's not even gone for a minute, but Stiles gets anxious. He notices an IV in his arm and electrodes on his torso. Soon, the machine he's attached to starts beeping, only stopping when Lydia gets back. She goes stand at his left, holding his hand and stroking his hair again. She's teary, he notices.

"I'm here, I'm here. The nurse will come here soon to check on you." She bites her lower lip. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit." He focuses on keeping his breathing slow to avoid the pain, without much success. "How bad is it?"

"You have a bruised knee, several broken ribs and a concussion. And your right hand is swollen and looks really bad, but nothing's broken. There are lots of cuts and bruises pretty much everywhere. The doctors want to keep you here a couple of days for observation."

"And my face?" He tries to lighten the mood because now she's crying and he can't wipe away her tears. "Am I still good looking?"

She chuckles. "No, but I think you're safe. You'll heal." Her hand falls from his hair to his face. "You have a nasty gash here," she says as her thumb brushes his cheekbone. He winces at her touch. "And there are a lot of bruises, but you'll be okay." It sounds to him like Lydia is saying that more to reassure herself than him.

"Are you okay?" he whispers, squeezing her hand.

"No, not really," she says, shaking her head. "I mean, I am, nothing happened to me. It's just… You scared the hell out of me, you idiot. What were you thinking?"

"I don't know. I just reacted, I didn't think. I tried to fight them but they were stronger. And that car, it came out of nowhere…" He moves on the bed trying to get a little more comfortable. "It's all I remember."

"You hit your head pretty hard when you fell. You lost consciousness for a few seconds, but you were talking in the ambulance. Maybe you just don't remember yet. They sedated you when you got to the hospital. You've been out since then."

He looks around slowly, disconcerted. It's day already. "What time is it?"

"Around 2:30pm, I think. Your dad and Melissa went downstairs to grab something to eat."

"Have you eaten yet? You look a little pale." He pauses to take a good look at her. "And tired. Lydia, have you slept?"

"You know I can't sleep when I'm nervous." He tries to move again but ends up whining, sore. "Will you stay still?" she scolds.

"Have you met me?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

She sits carefully next to him and looks down at their hands. "I just don't want you to be in any more pain."

He tangles his fingers with hers. "Hey, look at me." She looks back at his eyes, sobbing a little. "I'm so sorry that I did that and that I scared you. I didn't mean to…"

She rolls her eyes. "Of course you didn't mean to, Stiles. It's not your fault. I just…" She bites her lips and a few more tears escape. "I don't know what I'd do if…"

"Hey, I'm right here, okay? I'm pretty banged up, yes, but I'll live. You won't get rid of me that easily." He pauses to steady his breath and gets a smile from her. "Now would you please stop crying? It's killing me that I can't move and do something about it." He gives her an encouraging smile.

Lydia wipes away her tears and leans forward to kiss him. She's cautious not to hurt him and their lips move unhurried, hesitant. When the damn machine starts beeping again, Lydia lingers on the kiss for a while before pulling back and away from him, giggling. "Did you just hold your breath?"

Stiles blushes. "The hottest girl I've ever met just kissed me. I can't be blamed for how my body reacts to that…" She steals a quick kiss, smiling. When they part, he looks astounded. "What was that for?"

"To thank you. Aside from the whole playing hero and almost getting yourself killed thing, it was a perfect evening."

"But we didn't even finish our date."

She smiles fondly. "Plenty of time for that later."

xxxxxxxxxx

The rest of that Sunday afternoon goes by in a hurry, as do the following days. Due to a few headaches, Stiles only gets the all-clear from the doctors on Wednesday. By then he feels a little better, or in less pain at least. Lydia and Melissa spend the days with him at the hospital when they are allowed to. They keep him company and every day before dinner some of the family members stop by.

It's hard on the kids. At first, the parents don't let them see Stiles because he really doesn't look good. As most of the kids are still so young, they don't want them to be impressed by Stiles' injuries. All of the children whine that they want to see Uncle Stiles so he calls everyone on Monday night to try and make them feel better. Carter and Charlotte, however, get anxious and don't understand why they are allowed to talk to their uncle but not see him. The adults end up arranging for the kids to visit Stiles on Wednesday before he gets released from the hospital.

It's a weird afternoon for Stiles, that one, not in the bad sense though. His face is still bruised and the gash is still there, blood red, but all of the kids want to sit on his bed and kiss him and hug him. He has to tell them they can't get too close or they might hurt him without meaning to. Most of the little ones get teary when Stiles tries to move and ends up complaining because it hurts. It breaks his heart looking at them like that, like they are the ones hurting, because he knows it's his fault. Aside from how guilty he feels, Stiles' heart melts knowing each and every single one of them love him unconditionally and that he loves them back the same way, like they are his own. He had never really acknowledged that before.

When most of them leave, Stiles' parents, little Emma, Lydia and Ariel are the only ones left. John carries Emma in his arms and takes Ariel by the hand out of the room, leaving Lydia and Melissa to help Stiles get dressed. They talk about their options because Stiles can't be left alone. His knee will need physical therapy and might need surgery in the future if it doesn't get better. Crutches are out of the way, at least for now, because of his ribs and his hand, which is also gonna need therapy. So, to go home, he'll have to go in a wheelchair and even then, unless he's with someone all the time, he'll have to use it.

Stiles stomps his foot, figuratively at least, because he doesn't want to trouble anyone more than he already has, saying he'll figure it out by himself and that he'll just stay still all day and move when absolutely necessary. Lydia and Melissa had already discussed the matter between themselves, knowing Stiles would react selfless like that, remorseful about what happened.

"Your house is out of question, honey. The bedrooms are upstairs and everything else is in the lower floor. No way you're staying there," says Melissa.

Stiles is tired, a little irritable, and the medication is yet again kicking in, so he doesn't feel like arguing much. "What am I supposed to do? I can't stay with you guys. What about Emma? Besides, your house has two stories too."

"We know." Lydia almost whispers. She thought about it a lot, a whole damn lot, and she doesn't see other option, nor would she want one. It makes sense and it feels right and it's the safest option for him. "That's why we were thinking maybe you could stay with me." Stiles looks back at her surprised like he hasn't considered it, and before he can make excuses as to why it's not a good idea, she elaborates. "I know we live in an apartment on the third floor, but my house is all in the same level and there's the elevator, so no trouble in or out of the building. It's close to the clinic, so it'll be easier to drop you off for your appointments than if you were on the other side of town. And I work at home, so I can keep you company, take care of you and work nonetheless. I think it's the best option we've got."

She looks at Melissa, who nods encouragingly. "I think Lydia is right, Stiles. And I think this could be good for the two of you. It will take effort and some adjustment, but Lydia offered and she most certainly can handle it…"

"Ariel?" he interrupts.

"Ariel will love to have you there. I don't think she'll be a problem. She loves you, you know that."

"And your mom? You only have one spare room and she visits all the time. You know how much she loves to visit you two. I can't take that away from her."

"You won't. You'll stay with me." She states, blushing. Stiles looks flustered.

Melissa smiles. "Why don't I give you two a minute?" she says, already walking towards the door.

Already alone, Lydia helps Stiles sit on the wheelchair. They're almost ready to leave that goddamn hospital. Hands on his lap, Stiles looks down, not sure what to say. Lydia gets down on her knees and places her hands on top of his. "Listen, if someone was supposed to be freaking out about this, it should be me. I'm the one who's a single mom and has a young girl to take care of and might have some commitment issues. Still, I'm the one who suggested it. I won't have to compromise my job and I'll still be able to be there for you and for Ariel."

"You do realize that I'll be a piece of work the next few weeks, right? You don't have to take care of me, Lyds…"

"But I want to. Stiles, I love you." She does. It comes out easy because she's known it ever since he started to climb the walls she had so high up.

She didn't have to say it, the same way he didn't have to say it back. They have known it for a while and putting it into words doesn't change a thing. "And I love you. That's why I shouldn't have to impose like that. It was my fault…"

"It was as much your fault as it was mine, Stiles," she retorts.

"Lydia, it wasn't your fault."

"My point exactly," Lydia says. "It was no one's fault. It happened, nothing we can do about that. Now, you're not imposing at all, as you actually are adamantly trying to get out of this deal but I'm not letting you. I know you and I know you don't want to bother anyone, but you can't do this alone, alright? So maybe we can give it a try and see how it goes?" She purses her lips and gives him a small smile.

He smiles back, giving up. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"I was gonna stalk you and bore you to death and never leave your side to make sure you were okay anyway, so no. Or at least, it sounds less predatory this way," she says grinning, getting up again. "We'll make it work, you'll see."

"Are you sure about this?" he asks, looking up at her. And he means it. If he sees the tiniest bit of doubt in her eyes he'll back out. He'd rather roam his house injured all by himself than have Lydia do something she doesn't want to do or isn't comfortable with. Instead, he sees complete and utter adoration staring back at him.

Lydia bends down enough to capture his lips with hers in a sweet kiss, full of love and promises. "I'm sure," she says, her thumbs caressing his cheeks softly.

He steals a quick kiss, smiling, foreheads touching. "Can we go then? I'm so tired." He is. He's fighting his sleeping pills the best he can.

She kisses him again and then gets up. "Of course. Let's go home."

**Author's note:** **There's more fluff coming! Please review and tell me what you think :)**

**Also, in case you missed it, as I've said on tumblr I'll try smaller chapters so I can update my fics more regularly. I'll hopefully update my multi-chapter fics this weekend. You can find me as you-make-me-wander over there!**


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